home

A New Era for TalkLeft

No, we're not leaving. We're expanding, in a way.

One of the reasons I've been short on blogging the past month is that I've been busy designing and creating a new version of TalkLeft on Wordpress. (Talkleft has been on Scoop for years, which is not only a dinosaur, but very few people are still familiar with it or know how to move it over to another platform. The cost to do so would many thousands of dollars.)

Second, blog advertising has died a natural death. Since TalkLeft costs me thousands of dollars a year to maintain, I've decided to try something new: Two TalkLefts. [More...[

This TalkLeft will remain the same and completely free, except when I write long posts (1,000 words or more as I am frequently apt to do.) The first part of these long posts will appear on this site. If you want to read the rest, which will most likely be the part with links to the actual documents referred to in the post that I pay to get from PACER or Lexis, you will have to go over to TalkLeft Premium. That's the new second site.

At TalkLeft Premium, the first part of the article will be available to all, after which you will see a message from Tiny Pass giving you several options.

For one dollar, you can read the remainder of the post, comment and read anything else on the premium site for the duration of the day. Or, you can subscribe, for $4.00 per month (and sign up for either 1 month or recurring months). The third option is to buy a yearly subscription for $20.00, for which you get full access to the site and commenting privileges for a year.

You will probably have to sign up as a user at the Premium site, please use the same user name you do here so we all recognize you. (Added: You can also sign in with any existing wordpress account you have, no separate registration required.)

Open threads and for now, the forums, will stay at this TalkLeft and remain completely free.

The premium site is live now, it probably needs some more tweaks and if you have suggestions, I'm open to them. Wordpress has more options than Scoop, and the print is larger. (It seems all the new themes use larger fonts and take up more space, but they also work on mobile devices.)

I practiced on PopLeft, which I also just gave a bloglift to, especially with the various plugins, like spam blockers (another feature Scoop is either missing or way too complicated to figure it out. I did not want to use "captchas" in comments, and with wordpress, I don't have to.) Your first comment will be held in moderation, and after that, it's the same as here.

There's more width to the writing blocks at the Premium sites, and while I still prefer people to use html for links, or a short link, it's unlikely to skew the site. It will probably take me another week to iron out any kinks and set up additional pages on the premium site (for example, dedicated pages with links to the court pleadings and orders in the cases I follow, legislative documents, speeches, etc.)

Suggestions are always welcome. I suspect that the low prices will be temporary, so I suggest if you are interested, you head on over to TL Premium soon and sign up for a yearly pass. You can't beat $20 bucks for a year (although you are free to give more.) And I doubt there will be ads on it. (Note: you'll need to pay at the Premium site through Tiny Pass, rather than here.)

So take a look, bookmark it, and let me know what you think: TalkLeft Premium. Again, this site isn't going anywhere and will remain free. Suggestions are welcome.

< Guantanamo Hunger Strike: Pentagon Disputes Numbers | Monday Morning Open Thread >
  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


  • Display: Sort:
    Your pricing is very reasonable. (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by Angel on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 09:43:28 AM EST
    Jeralyn, thank you for TalkLeft.  

    Looks great (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by Coral on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 10:30:51 AM EST
    I will subscribe. One wish--that a group of sites would get together and offer subscriptions to the group of sites.

    I wish a few major newspaper/magazine sites would do this. It would make it easier for me to subscribe to sites I wouldn't visit with great frequency.

    Great idea (none / 0) (#80)
    by Militarytracy on Thu May 07, 2015 at 05:07:14 PM EST
    I don't think I have ever been here (5.00 / 4) (#45)
    by TeresaInPa on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 06:11:05 PM EST
    when Jeralyn writes a post and everyone just agrees.  Can someone please alert me when that happens, this I have to see.  

    Not only that (none / 0) (#57)
    by BackFromOhio on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 09:24:42 PM EST
    but also Jeralyn writes very thorough analysis back by numerous facts and references to applicable law.  Nothing to do with point of view -- just darned good reporting.

    Parent
    You know (5.00 / 2) (#48)
    by sj on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 07:12:47 PM EST
    it would be good to have a link there that comes back here.  And vice versa.

    J, on TLP new comments are not in bold or (5.00 / 3) (#69)
    by caseyOR on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 04:14:23 PM EST
    in some manner set-off from old comments. On regular TL I can tell at a glance when new comments have been added to a thread because the number of new comment is in bold on the front page and in the thread the new comments are set off with red.

    In TLP I have to go through all the comments to get to the ones I have not read.

    I think I will put a thread there (5.00 / 1) (#70)
    by Jeralyn on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 05:16:20 PM EST
    with requested comment features and then I can see about adding what people want.

    Parent
    Ok, throw me a bone here... (5.00 / 1) (#76)
    by jeffinalabama on Tue Mar 19, 2013 at 08:57:56 PM EST
    Where do I go to pay for a subscription on the premium site? It's a better bargain than my unused $20/month gym membership.

    TLP (premium) is not taking subscriptions (5.00 / 1) (#77)
    by caseyOR on Tue Mar 19, 2013 at 10:03:29 PM EST
    right now. Jeralyn is ironing out some programming problems. When she is ready to relaunch, she will post a notice here at regular TL.  Then we can click on over to TLP and subscribe.

    For now, all postings at TLP are free of charge.

    Parent

    Ty Casey. (none / 0) (#78)
    by jeffinalabama on Tue Mar 19, 2013 at 10:08:08 PM EST
    I'll be joining this one to see what it's like.

    Parent
    Whatever. (1.00 / 1) (#4)
    by ek hornbeck on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 10:26:02 AM EST
    I've never felt the need to commercialize my activism and the price is quite reasonable. $15 dollars a month for each The Stars Hollow Gazette and DocuDharma or less than my cable TV bill for both.

    Still free for readers, commenters, and contributors.

    See you around.

    Adios. Don't let the door hit you ... (1.00 / 1) (#15)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 01:55:28 PM EST
    ... where the good Lord split you on your way out.

    Parent
    Huh? (none / 0) (#19)
    by ek hornbeck on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 02:27:28 PM EST
    Not going any where except toe up.

    As I said, see you around.

    Parent

    "See you around" (none / 0) (#36)
    by Peter G on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 05:19:22 PM EST
    means "good bye," to me.  Not to you?

    Parent
    I'm thinking "auf Wiedersehen." (none / 0) (#37)
    by oculus on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 05:22:45 PM EST
    Goodbye until we meet again.

    Parent
    which is the same idea as (none / 0) (#49)
    by Peter G on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 07:21:38 PM EST
    "au revoir," or "hasta mañana."

    Parent
    And "sayonara." (none / 0) (#53)
    by oculus on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 07:45:06 PM EST
    Nope, still here. (none / 0) (#66)
    by ek hornbeck on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 10:30:37 AM EST
    "See you tomorrow" is more like it

    Parent
    Very modern looking... (none / 0) (#1)
    by fishcamp on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 09:08:01 AM EST
    I like it.

    Very sleek (none / 0) (#3)
    by Dadler on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 10:14:25 AM EST
    Looks sweet.

    It does look nice! (none / 0) (#31)
    by ruffian on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 04:47:31 PM EST
    And I like the Facebook, google +,  and other site sharing for the articles.  Maybe I will use my google + account for sharing my political stuff so as not to start arguments with family members on Facebook who will never be on google +.

    Parent
    Dadler, I have been reading a book (none / 0) (#33)
    by ruffian on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 04:53:34 PM EST
    I thought you would like, with your family's show biz history. It is called "The Entertainer" by Margaret Talbot.  Her father Lyle Talbot was an actor starting 20's, first in traveling theater troupes and then under contract to Warner Bros (as far as I have gotten so far). The book tells about the popular entertainment business in America, using his career and experiences as the thread.  It is a great read - I think you would enjoy.

    Parent
    Very cool, thanks for the recommend (none / 0) (#41)
    by Dadler on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 05:39:41 PM EST
    ;-)

    Parent
    I think it's a reasonable subscription (none / 0) (#6)
    by Anne on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 12:32:45 PM EST
    rate, but if I could make one tiny suggestion, it would be: get someone to proofread for you.

    Not to get nitpicky, but, in this post alone:

    dinonsaur (dinosaur)
    duraton (duration)
    an (should be "and")
    sitll (still)
    exammple (example)
    Suggestions are always welcome I suspect that... (you need a semi-colon between "welcome" and "I")

    The typos, transpositions and grammatical errors take away from the professional look and feel, and I think when you're charging people to read, there should be a greater level of quality control.

    Hope you don't mind the suggestion - you know this kind of stuff just leaps off the page at me!

    Also, have you considered some version of "charter member" status for those who get in on the ground floor, providing an incentive that would guarantee them some level of protection from future price increases?  Just a thought.

    wordpress has a spell-checker (none / 0) (#10)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 01:09:50 PM EST
    which this software does not.

    Parent
    You are depriving the spelling/grammar guardians (none / 0) (#38)
    by oculus on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 05:24:04 PM EST
    of their life's blood!

    Parent
    We'll still have grammar and (none / 0) (#44)
    by Anne on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 05:56:56 PM EST
    punctuation; spell-check doesn't fix those...and let's not forget that you can use the wrong word - say "road" for "rode" - but since the one you used is a word, and it's spelled correctly, spell-check isn't going to take notice that there's a problem.

     

    Parent

    So true. Not to mention (none / 0) (#46)
    by oculus on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 06:39:18 PM EST
    the perils of auto-correct.

    BTW, were you ever an English teacher?

    Parent

    part of legal (none / 0) (#56)
    by BackFromOhio on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 09:23:21 PM EST
    training and work habits

    Parent
    English minor in college - a million (none / 0) (#65)
    by Anne on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 09:50:23 AM EST
    years ago.

    I do a lot of writing in my job, and I have to read a lot of really bad attorney English - the kind that results in one-sentence paragraphs - and I don't mean your kind of sentences, I mean the kind one needs a road map to navigate.

    Parent

    Will BTD posting here? (none / 0) (#8)
    by oculus on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 12:44:29 PM EST


    every post will be in both places (none / 0) (#9)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 01:09:01 PM EST
    You can read here for free or at the other site. If he chooses to post his entire post here so you can read the whole thing for free, he is welcome to do that. There is not going to an automatic word limit here. Also, many posts won't be long enough to warrant asking someone to pay for it and the entire post will be available here free.

    Parent
    Thanks. (I don't anticipate (none / 0) (#12)
    by oculus on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 01:25:20 PM EST
    adding  my two cents worth to the comments on criminal defense and MJ issues.)

    Parent
    Unless Polanski re-surfaces. (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by oculus on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 05:25:20 PM EST
    I think the price is very reasonable (none / 0) (#11)
    by sj on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 01:13:06 PM EST
    And so I subscribed straightaway. But I don't see a way to create a new account so I'm not even sure what the subscription is tied to.  Am I just thick?

    thanks, I forgot to turn on (none / 0) (#13)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 01:27:19 PM EST
    registration. It's open now. Let me know if you still have issues.

    Parent
    I'm still trying it out (none / 0) (#14)
    by sj on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 01:47:04 PM EST
    but I'm having issues.  I subscribed using TinyPass and when I log in there, it shows my subscription.  

    1.  I logged in to TL Premium
    2.  I clicked on "Leave a Reply"
    3.  I get "To continue, purchase with TinyPass..." and click on "Already Purchased"
    4.  I sign into TinyPass
    5.  I get the screen to buy a day pass, a month pass or a subscription.

    So...

    1.  Obviously I'm not going to buy a subscription for every comment.
    2.  That's a lot of steps.  I hope it's not always going to be that way
    3.  I don't see a personal profile, but I don't make my email public here, will it be public on TL Premium?


    Parent
    Sounds like there are a few things that (none / 0) (#16)
    by MO Blue on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 02:14:08 PM EST
    need to be worked out on the new site.

    Guess I will wait until the site is up and running for a week or so before deciding on participation.  

    Parent

    I figured... (5.00 / 2) (#17)
    by sj on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 02:18:07 PM EST
    ... someone needed to be the guinea pig. :)

    Parent
    I think I will let you be our (none / 0) (#22)
    by MO Blue on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 02:35:42 PM EST
    "Mikey."  ;o)

    Parent
    Better you than me. :-D (none / 0) (#23)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 02:36:18 PM EST
    Anyway, please let us know how it all finally resolves, so that we'll be able to avoid your possible missteps. Thanks, and good luck.

    Parent
    no your email will not be public (none / 0) (#26)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 03:17:32 PM EST
    You should have received an email a few minutes ago granting you access. Let me know if you only get access to that post or can access the other post that's up as well.

    I think you register first at TL premium, and then click on the TinyPass link if you want full access, and you can choose a day, week or year. It should be to all content, not just one post.

    Parent

    Thanks for checking it out (none / 0) (#28)
    by sj on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 03:27:14 PM EST
    I'm glad email address isn't visible.  I wondered if I had confused it by subscribing before I registered, but, when I didn't the "Register" link I thought maybe subscribing was how I got there.

    It looks better now, I posted my "to be moderated" test comment.  I'll be interested to see how a "robust" comment thread is rendered.

    Parent

    Where do I subscribe (none / 0) (#18)
    by hgardner on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 02:25:22 PM EST
    Maybe I am missing something but I can't find the link to subscribe for a year, only a  link to spend a dollar to continue reading one post.  Thanks, Hannah

    Press the link for $1 and it will take you to a (none / 0) (#52)
    by caseyOR on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 07:44:09 PM EST
    screen with all 3 pay options. There you can choose day/$1 or month/$4 or year/$20.

    Parent
    Happy Saint Patrick's Day, Jeralyn. (none / 0) (#20)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 02:27:33 PM EST
    The new site looks a lot more sleek -- and the cost is certainly very reasonable. I'll gladly sign up.

    Okay, The Spouse and I are off to downtown HNL and Murphy's, as we'll both be tending bar at what national wholesale liquor distributors are claiming is now the biggest St. Patrick's Day block party west of the Mississippi -- which I sorta find hard to believe, but who knows? -- with a crowd of about 25-30,000 expected at its height about 8:00 p.m. HST.

    Younger Daughter flew back from school in Hilo yesterday morning just for the occasion, and she'll also be working the block party, albeit in one of the food booths, because she's too young to serve alcohol. It should be a lot of fun, regardless, not to mention a very nice payday for her, too. She's returning to Hilo tomorrow morning on the 7:30 a.m. flight, so I've got to drop her off at the airport by 6:30 a.m. before I head on over to the Capitol -- which means we leave home at 5:45 a.m. Ugh!

    Erin Go Braugh, everyone -- and if you're going to party hardy, please keep it cool and look out for each other, okay? Nuf ced. Your local PDs will no doubt be out in force tonight to pick off any stragglers and swagglers.

    Aloha.

    Nevermind (none / 0) (#21)
    by hgardner on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 02:28:19 PM EST
    Followed the $1 link and got to the year's subscription.  Maybe change the $1 link to "$1 or subscribe"?  

    Premium Pay Site (none / 0) (#24)
    by denny on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 02:45:39 PM EST
    What is the "Comment Policy" for your new Premium Pay site ? Could paying subscribers be banned for posting comments that you do not agree with ?

    Furthermore, in the event that you remove a user's privilege to post content on your site, what is your refund policy ?


    I, for one, hope the commenting policy (5.00 / 2) (#25)
    by Peter G on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 03:05:34 PM EST
    remains as is. Neither Jeralyn nor BTD bans commenters for "posting comments that [either of them] do[es] not disagree with."  The policy on comment restrictions and bans is very reasonable, very tolerant, and very clear and specific -- and quite fairly enforced, it has seemed to me.

    Parent
    Does not agree with, of course, (none / 0) (#50)
    by Peter G on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 07:23:22 PM EST
    not "disagree with."

    Parent
    comment policy will be the same (none / 0) (#27)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 03:21:58 PM EST
    thanks, I'll add a commenting page.I do not delete comments because of policy disagreement. See our current commenting rules.

    There will not be a refund for commenters who are banned for violating commenting rules. Usually, I delete the comment and warn the commenter before banning.

    Parent

    I didn't see anyplace to pay..... (none / 0) (#29)
    by ruffian on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 04:43:33 PM EST
    But I did register and leave a comment!

    I signed up for 1 month to see how this (none / 0) (#30)
    by caseyOR on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 04:43:35 PM EST
    new TL goes. The sign-up was fairly simple.

     My one problem- I had to change my Safari settings to accept 3rd party cookies. Was this necessary for the sign-up only or will I be required to continue accepting all cookies to access TL Premium? And if so, is there no way to work around this? I do not want to be accepting cookies for every damn site I visit.

    Well, I can answer my own question. (none / 0) (#32)
    by caseyOR on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 04:49:58 PM EST
    I changed my settings back to not accepting 3rd party cookies and was still able to sign-in on the TP Premium site.

    Parent
    What if (none / 0) (#34)
    by Zorba on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 05:06:14 PM EST
    someone is already registered on Wordpress for some other blogs, as I am?  Under the same username.  The TalkLeft Wordpress registration says that they will email you a password.  I already have a Wordpress password under "Zorba."  Will this change my password for my other Wordpress account?  I can't seem to find that out.  Does anyone know?  I don't want to mess up my original Wordpress account, since I am a "guest blogger" on another Wordpress site.

    you should be able to sign in (none / 0) (#35)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 05:16:02 PM EST
    with any other wordpress account you have.  You wouldn't need to set up another one specially for talkleft. And you would use whatever password goes with that account.

    It would be helpful if people used the same user name they use here.

    Parent

    Can't seem to do it. (none / 0) (#40)
    by Zorba on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 05:30:38 PM EST
    I tried both my original WordPress username and my email, both of which I can use when I sign into WordPress for my other blogs.
    I'm stumped.  I don't think that I can create another WordPress account, at least, not with the same username, email, and password.  Is anyone else having this problem?

    Parent
    Okay, I was finally able to (none / 0) (#43)
    by Zorba on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 05:43:01 PM EST
    sign into TL Premium.  I just hope that it doesn't mess up my original Wordpress account.  Crossing fingers for luck.

    Parent
    How, Zorba? (none / 0) (#51)
    by Peter G on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 07:24:42 PM EST
    Please explain exactly how you did it with your existing WordPress credentials.

    Parent
    They emailed me (5.00 / 2) (#54)
    by Zorba on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 08:16:44 PM EST
    my "new" password when I signed up and paid, using my current email address and username.  I then I logged in and changed the "new" password to my already existing Wordpress password.  I expected it to have a hissy fit, but it didn't, probably because the email was the same, as well as the username.
    Why I could not just use my original Wordpress password for the new Talk Left Premium account in the first place, I have no idea, but I could not find a way to do this.
    The computers just want to mess with our minds in order to make it easier for them when they totally take over.  All hail our new overlords.     ;-)

    Parent
    You ain't seen nuthin yet! (none / 0) (#55)
    by NYShooter on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 09:01:16 PM EST
    Domestic Drones Stir Imaginations, and Concerns
    By MATTHEW L. WALD, NYT

    "Companies, universities and lawmakers in the United States are preparing for a world in which remote-controlled planes will be ubiquitous in civilian air"

    LINK

    "The sky's going to be dark with these things," said Chris Anderson, the former editor of Wired,


    Parent

    Jeralyn, has TL sent any clients to you? (none / 0) (#42)
    by oculus on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 05:42:00 PM EST
    Just curious. Word of mouth etc.

    Never (none / 0) (#47)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 06:58:36 PM EST
    Nor would I expect to. I doubt I even have a client who knows about it. But this is off topic.

    Parent
    But, isn't the NYT making a profit? (none / 0) (#59)
    by oculus on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 10:21:37 PM EST
    They (she) is certainly making some bucks off me.

    You know... (none / 0) (#60)
    by ek hornbeck on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 10:38:57 PM EST
    NYT is selling assets as fast as it can and their pay wall has more holes than Swiss Cheese?

    No, there is no profit, so they're liquidating the brand, firing writers and staff, and stiffing the printer's unions as much as they can get away with.

    Media is a vanity game.  It's not about money at all.

    Parent

    FWIW (none / 0) (#61)
    by bmaz on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 01:08:27 AM EST
    Long URLs can still bust your margins in Word Press. Good idea to enforce the hyperlinking from the start.

    Or you could... (none / 0) (#62)
    by unitron on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 07:18:39 AM EST
    ...make the margins most of the width of the page.

    Might help with nesting/threading as well.

    Parent

    Signed up for the year.. Well worth it - eom (none / 0) (#63)
    by Cashmere on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 09:00:30 AM EST


    Damn... (none / 0) (#64)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 09:47:15 AM EST
    ...the $20 is worth it just to keep the trolls away.  By trolls I mean people who post about once a month with something clearly meant to insight, then leave.

    I would to help out some of the regulars who might have cash flow issues at the moment.  Is there anyway we could anonymously put some scrap together to make sure some of the regulars aren't left behind ?

    Great job BTW.

    Here is what I posted at the TL-new:
    No problem singing up and getting a year pass.


    I would note three things.
    • The options for paying are numerous including CC and PayPal. I mention this because at TL-old you only mentioned the one. I personally love PayPal for the fact I don't have to type all my info and it's not being shelved in another database.
    • I love the how clean the site is; A+ on visuals. The sidebar on TL-old took up some very valuable real estate.
    • I would pay extra to keep the ads of this site.

    I am also very excited about checking it out on my phone because in the past, the type size variance from the post to the comments made it virtually impossible to use of a phone.



    This is the dawning... (none / 0) (#67)
    by kdog on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 11:51:11 AM EST
    of a new era!
    Congratulations J...for sure I will be signing up once I get some cyber-cash available, which shouldn't be too long as I am hoping to be loading up the prepaid cc to make some travel plans within the next couple weeks, barring any economic setbacks.

    I am still working with Tiny Pass (none / 0) (#68)
    by Jeralyn on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 02:03:22 PM EST
    to fix the access options. As soon as that's accomplished, I'll put up a new post on it. I have new material to post on the site but am waiting until the bugs are ironed out so all of you who registered will be able to read it.

    So right now (Monday evening) (none / 0) (#71)
    by Peter G on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 07:39:41 PM EST
    there is no way to register and pay?  If there is, I'm not seeing it, and I just went to TLP with that intention.

    Parent
    You have to click on a post (none / 0) (#74)
    by jbindc on Tue Mar 19, 2013 at 10:54:44 AM EST
    A couple of points: (none / 0) (#72)
    by Mitch Guthman on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 09:23:54 PM EST
    1.  I think it's a mistake to make people type extra characters to get to the successor blog.  Also, the Talkleft blog is very well established so it seems to me that "talkleft.com" should resolve to the new site and not to this site---which should be called something like basic.talkleft.  I wouldn't dilute your brand or make the site even slightly more difficult to find.

    2.  The new site is much cleaner and I think you'll find that Wordpress is much, much easier to use.

    Good luck.  I'll subscribe and I hope others will also.  

    Thanks but I disagree (none / 0) (#73)
    by Jeralyn on Tue Mar 19, 2013 at 01:42:52 AM EST
    TalkLeft (this site) isn't going anywhere. It has ten years of posts with internal links and images that would be broken if moved to a different url. As I mentioned in the post, it would be several thousand dollars to convert it to a more modern system, with links redirected, assuming it were possible.  It cost more than $5,000. in 2006 to move it from Movable Type to Scoop, and I'm just not going to make that kind of investment again in a hobby.

    I'm not trying to make it more commercial or  accessible via search engines -- or boost traffic.  TalkLeft was very successful financially for many years, but those days are over. It's a niche blog covering a discrete number of issues. Now I'd just like to recoup some of the monthly costs and receive some recognition from dedicated readers and commenters for the amount of time and research that goes into my longer posts. Many take several hours to research and write, some take days. People can disagree with my conclusions and opinions, but the facts presented are sourced and reliable.

    Another reason I'm not trying to grow TalkLeft much beyond its current size is because it would require another server. My sites are the only ones on the current server, and this site taxes  it to capacity. Hosting alone runs more than a few hundred dollars a month as is, and two servers would be double -- more than I'm willing to spend.

    Also, TL premium is an experiment. It may or may not work out. If it doesn't, I'd have moved this site for no reason, and end up having to move it back, which would be more confusing to readers and search engines.

    Lastly, you don't have to type more characters if you bookmark the site. Both sites have their own RSS feed.

    I do appreciate your suggestion, and I'm really glad people like the design. I did it all myself, over the course of the past week. Since I only have basic html knowledge and no design experience, I'm really flattered that the response has been so positive to the look of the new site. (yes I used a theme, but I modified it considerably and added a lot of customization.)

    Parent

    I know (none / 0) (#75)
    by DebFrmHell on Tue Mar 19, 2013 at 03:05:59 PM EST
    you have a big Zimmerman post coming out and I was wondering if we can copy some of the paragraphs to take to other sites.  I know you will have copyrighted it and I don't know how that works.  

    Also, can I tweet out about the new blog?  You never/rarely use your Twitter account. I tweet out older Zimmerman threads on occasion since you make sense of the legal aspects for laypersons. TIA for clarification!

    New Site looks very cool and very modern but I am very glad that you are keeping the original on Scoop.  I love that it lets you see new postings which is my big gripe about WP.  

    PACER and Lexis are expensive (none / 0) (#81)
    by Militarytracy on Thu May 07, 2015 at 05:11:03 PM EST
    I think it is a great model, allowing readers access to your opening paragraph and they can chip in to read the rest.