Recently Echo announced that they're closing Haloscan commenting.
They've given users two choices:
1) Export comments or lose them.
2) Pay for the formerly free service and upgrade to Echo.
Needless to say people are confused.
I've been watching and waiting for my notification.
It came last night in the form of an email.
Haloscan is being shut down on: Feb 04, 2010
The Haloscan hardware and software is physically failing and we have no choice but to discontinue the service. (yeah. sure. right.)
Two Options: Switch to Echo or Export your comments FREE.
Although we can't rescue Haloscan, we are trying our best to limit the negative impact on users. To do this, we have worked hard to provide 2 options for Haloscan sites.
Log in now to make your choice and continue without interruption
I don't really see a choice here. It doesn't support popular blogging platforms.
Or spellcheck. Obviously.
Haloscan upgrade FAQ
Their blog has gone crazy as some people vent anger and others just sound desperate and depressed.
http://blog.js-kit.com/2009/12/09/haloscan-is-getting-upgraded-to-echo/
http://blog.js-kit.com/2009/12/15/announcing-a-new-brand-mission-and-customers/
It's a little strange to see such self congratulatory and uncaring attitudes towards disappointed potential clients. For myself, I don't intend to comment on sites using Echo. I can't even begin to express my disappointment in finding that Technorati has become a client, I can only pray that they'll realize how much commenters dislike Echo and dump it. And I also pray that they won't force it on us at blogcritics.org, but we are sharing one umbrella so to speak... they are we and we are them.
Every site that I've seen using echo so far has dumped it.
Commenters hate it.
There's an old geek saying
If two wrongs don't make a right... try three.
It has nothing to do with the fact that they've monetized. At least not from what I've seen. I wouldn't mind paying for my commenting system. I would have happily given them $12 a year to continue to use haloscan. Most users would. But I keep hearing the same complaint. People don't like Echo. Geeks like Echo, at least the idea of it. But readers don't like it. And in the face of the 'F Off' attitude of its administrators I can't say that I would ever trust them either. Too self-serving. Too set in the mind frame that data aggregation creates community, rather than people.
Here's what Paul had to say in comments.
I agree with him whole-heartedly.
Now of course I wish I had never gone with Haloscan in the first place. I have a selfhosted blogger blog using my own template. I no longer have the code to put my blogger comments back in place, so find myself facing the prospect of upgrading to a service that I don't want to use, or losing the facility of comments altogether.
All the guides about reverting from Haloscan to Blogger assume that you use the new blogspot templates, so sadly I cannot undo what I did three years ago. Coincidentally, JS-Kit appears to believe all Blogger users are on blogspot sites, as trying to sign in with my Blogger identity didn't work, as my blog isn't on blogspot...
Coming to the Rescue of the Blogosphere
Thankfully, there is a very kind person providing a service for free to transition comments from Haloscan to a new comment platform. (I found him and it's one poor guy collecting all of those xml files through email and transferring them for free. I can't imagine how many are emailing him for help.)
Please export your files from your haloscan account before emailing Kirk.
It's easier for him to pull them from the site, but they may be gone before he can get there. So best to have that back-up on hand just in case.
The comments will be transferred into tridentscan. It's just like haloscan.
Go to this site http://tridentscan.jaggedseam.com/ to get email information.
And Please Be Patient.
He's just one guy.
One great guy who embodies the spirit of the blogosphere.
Community.
So, who's next?
I know there are some programmers out there who can whip up something to help out.
Put your thinking caps on.
We need you.
Currently Reading: Web of Deceit by Darlene Cox
Look for the review soon on my blogcritics writer profile page.
2 comments:
I go this email as well but just deleted it without looking into it. Once upon a time, when Haloscan was becoming all the rage, I tried it out but could never get perfect integration so I ditched it. I can;t remember if I saved the few comments that wer ein it or not, but either way, that day is long, long past.
How are you T? It's been a while!
Hi,
Thanks for the information. I appreciate that the two choices given are highly suitable for me.
Haloscan has been a great network that has promoted new talents in writing and blogging.
Thesis Papers
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