MLB & WordPress latest update & what to expect
:: Updated with new dates ::
All of our blogs will be migrated from Movable Type to WordPress tentatively starting on Friday, May 13, with expected completion late Monday, May 16. That was just pushed back a week from May 6-9 to allow more time for a smooth conversion for fans.
What you need to know:
DOWNTIME: You will not be able to access your blog software or view your blog during that scheduled May 13-16 service outage. Anyone attempting to access your blog then will be redirected to this community blog, which will keep you updated on the status. I will respond as needed to comments here during that weekend and let you know when the final changes are completed, signaling your return to blogging in a brand-new way using the latest WordPress blogging software.
Plan on not having access to your blogs and dashboards after the afternoon of the 13th, with exact times to come. If you get the urge to write during this downtime, write it in a text editor like Notepad (PC) or TextEdit (Mac) and save it to copy and paste into your blog when the next system is online on May 16.
EMAIL UPDATING: It is imperative that you take the opportunity in the meantime to make sure a current and reachable email address is in the profile of your MLB.com registration account. Everyone will receive a WordPress activation email that will contain very important details on how to access your new WordPress dashboard, and WordPress is going to email the address that is currently associated with your MLBlog.
This means if you created an MLB.com account (and thus your blog) using a dummy email that has no inbox, or if you never check that email you used to create an MLBlog a long time ago, you will not be able to receive the activation email and won’t be able to access your converted blog on WordPress. It’s easy to log into your MLB.com account on top of the MLB.com homepage and edit the email to include one that has an active inbox that you will be checking after this transition is done.
Having already migrated over hundreds of the PRO blogs authored by members of the MLB family, trust me that this has overwhelmingly been the main problem area. Avoid that issue at all costs so you don’t lose a lot more important blogging time after the downtime. NOW IS THE TIME TO DO THIS as it will not be possible after we return from the weekend downtime.
CONTENT: All content from your current blog should show up just fine after the migration. Exception: blog posts with a draft/unpublished status WILL NOT be converted, so you either need to save those elsewhere or publish them before the service outage if you want them to be in your dashboard going forward. If not, they will be lost. We are spending the days leading up to the full migration constantly testing and looking for bugs. If you encounter any missing content after the final conversion, it should show up shortly thereafter.
SUPPORT: Once the conversion to WordPress has been completed, all Blog Support will be handled by the very capable WordPress support team — not MLB.com customer service or any other source. DO NOT contact MLB.com customer service about blog issues. WordPress has extensive support documentation and can be contacted directly. As always, this community blog also will be a help resource on any issues that are representative of a collective need, but this will not be a technical-support blog.
THEMES AND WIDGETS: You are going to have access to the three types of themes you’re used to (per MLB and Club), plus the impressive volume of WordPress themes. In turn, this is going to drastically expand this community, because hundreds of thousands of WordPress bloggers will have access for the first time to MLB themes. We’re also gaining the capability to add a wide variety of widgets to the blog sidebar, as well as complete customization capability for the sidebar. Fun is coming.
The next update with more specific times and any further news will come shortly, and feel free to post any comments here in the meantime.
KEY ACTION STEPS for you to take before the scheduled downtime:
1. Make sure the email address you are using for your blog is updated to one that you can access and that can receive email. Crucial.
2. Publish all draft/unpublished blog posts or copy and paste the text into a text editor.
We’ll post the April Latest Leaders at a delayed date once the conversion is finished and sure everything is going smoothly. And on another note, we’ve changed the name of this from “MLBlogosphere” to “MLB.com Blogs Central” – same blog, new title. Thanks.
MLB.com Blogs Central 
Mark – I don’t see the ads all the time, but sometimes the ads appear right at the end of the entries. My thought is that they do not appear if you are logged in because some of the people I’ve discussed it with who have pro blogs that were already converted have never themselves seen the ads.
-Todd
I’ve been noticing advertisements on pro blogs below entries. Will fan blogs have these same types of ads? That was one thing I really liked about mlblogs… No ads on our pages.
Not sure what ads you are seeing – please specify a URL. That is not expected and am not seeing it.
I have some entries that have expended page how will the covert to wordpress and will my post look just like they are right now on wordpress b/c for example I had put scores for some entries will that be mass up and not line up the way I have it now! I know nothing is perfect, but I don’t want it to be unline up. Thanks
I have some entries that have expended page how will the covert to wordpress and will my post look just like they are right now on wordpress b/c for example I had put scores for some entries will that be mass up and not line up the way I have it now! I know nothing is perfect, but I don’t want it to be unline up. Thanks
Mark,
I know I have had trouble in the past with the new Internet Explorer 9 being compatible with our old system. Do you know if there are ant restrictions with Word Press and this newer browser….Or will I still have to use Firefox or Google Chrome to submit my posts and photos in the future?
Excited for the changes.
WordPress recommends Firefox, but there are tips for other browsers at http://en.support.wordpress.com/browser-issues/. Everyone will want to get to know WP Support well starting next week.
This is all weel and great. But why can’t I write anything today. I can not write in the body or even post a photo. All I can do is title it and add tags not much of a entrie. Is anybody else having this problem? Are their any solutions? I have signed out relogged in, restarted computer blah,blah and tried a different computer.
Because they are transferring the site this weekend, so you won’t have access. No access means no ability to post. Your readers ill understand, especially if you explain it to them on Thursday. In the meantime, per the post above:
You can always back date these posts after the site is live again. That way you don’t break your streak.
Thanks for the help…and not a moronic rambling at all! Your suggesting of backdating for Eric is appreciated and exactly right…if all goes as planned, anyone who wants to keep a daily posting streak alive can simply back-date when they publish after the conversion is completed.
Sorry that was meant for the post above. I got no idea why you can’t post now, I was able to this morning just fine using Google Chrome.
The MT software worked fine on this end when we tried to replicate your issue, so keep trying. Fortunately it will be a moot point soon enough.
So starting this Friday May 13th You can’t post anything so I can’t white anything, but I post everyday that’s why I named it thedailybaseball blog is there any way I can post this weekend including Friday?
To everyone dealing with the photo problem… the way I’ve got around it is by uploading my photos to another WordPress blog I have and then copying and pasting them into MLBlogs. It’s very easy and I think it would work from almost any blog/website you might have. Hope that’s helpful!
Mike…I have the same issue. However, if you know how to use HTML code, you can add photos that way. Switch to the HTML edit page when you want to add a photo.
-Jenn
Are we going to be able to post until next weekend? Having trouble uploading pics and adding them to an entry the last few days. Help is appreciated.
–Mike
‘Minoring In Baseball’
Yes, you will be able to post until next weekend, as this has nothing to do with the current Movable Type software. Once again, photos uploading is a known issue and there is no support for that issue. You might want to go text-only until the full conversion or keep trying, and also see Jenn’s subsequent comment.
The password will be the same do I have to go to wordpress to log in now or will it still be MLBLOGS.com
I mean will the password for mlblogs be the same right!
Your URL will still be http://thebaseballdaily.mlblogs.com
We recommend bookmarking your WordPress dashboard at that point to save time. Or you will always be able to log in from http://MLB.com/blogs or simply WordPress.com.
You will be able to use any password of your choosing on WordPress. The activation email you receive will have a temporary password for you and you will be able to change that to any password of your choosing. Again, this is all for AFTER we convert all fan blogs to WordPress.
so this run my wordpress now so everything you can do with wordpress you’ll be able to do, but will it still be .mlblogs.wordpress or something like that? and will my stat thing be transferred to or do I have to re do that one? What I mean is hit box thing on some of the blogs on here. And will there be still a top 100 MLB blog? Thanks for answering my questions sir!!
Thanks for your reply, Mark. I’m excited about the move, because I’d love to be able to change my theme up and do some new things with the site.
Beth
http://yankeeschick.mlblogs.com
If my MLBlog moves to the WordPress server system, can I post a new entry with a blogging tool supporting WordPress.com blogs (there are number of blogging tools compatible with a WordPress.com blog or a WordPress.org blog)?
Thanks. Going to be saying this a lot so might as well get used to this: Such questions will go to http://en.support.wordpress.com and http://en.support.wordpress.com/contact
Hey Todd my question what if you have another blog with wordpress do i need to change the email address!
Eric, there isn’t any need to change the email address for your existing WordPress account. Your MLBlog will show up in your WordPress dashboard — though if it shows up before the switch to WordPress is complete, please resist the urge to access the blog dashboard until you get the go-ahead.
Another question will all my photos transfer too?
We expect them to, based on the initial migration of the PRO blogs. Some of those experienced missing pics at first and then ultimately they showed up. Such issues are theoretically ironed out for the full migration of all fan blogs. As noted, you might have some delay of content converting over and if so we expect it to show up shortly thereafter. In any case, we’ll be on the lookout for anything unexpected, which usually is part of a launch or migration.
I can’t upload pictures to my posts — is this a side effect of the move? I’ve been trying all day, and the only pictures I can add are ones I’ve uploaded already at some other point. It’s hard to do my Stars of the Game and such when I can’t add any images.
Beth
http://yankeeschick.mlblogs.com
That’s a Movable Type performance issue and not related to our upcoming WordPress switchover. And an example of why we’re moving over, as there is not support for that occasional issue. Maybe consider text-only for a week.
Oddly enough, I just logged into my previous “WordPress” account and my “The 1 Constant” MLBlog shows up at the WordPress dashboard with editing options, etc. The strange thing is the password to my WordPress account is completely different from my MLB.com account.
Amazin86er, err on the safe side and do nothing to your blog from the WP dashboard until after we’ve given the all’s-clear for the whole community ideally next Monday. Otherwise you could risk doing work that’s lost after the full conversion. Ignore that for now.
Mark, that is what I assumed as I did not make any changes whatsoever. Hopefully everything is transitioned as smoothly as possible. Thanks.
I appreciate that this site is determined to keep thing up to date and modern. These changes will be a little stressfull at first, but I’m sure that will turn into fun and exciting in the coming months. Thank you for your commitment.
–Mike
‘Minoring In Baseball’
These sound like great changes and I’m really looking forward to the new platform. Thanks for the update and the instructions.
Good luck with the transition. I know from experience that these can be stressful for those behind the scenes.
I’m concerned here. My email address is correct in my profile. But, for some unknown reason, I haven’t received a comment email since mid-2009. And if this blog entry was emailed to users (as implied in Jenn’s comment), I didn’t receive it either. In fact, I haven’t received any mlblogs.com email whatsoever since 2009.
On another note, if I include my blog URL in comments on the already-converted pro blogs, my comment NEVER shows up. I’m confused why this is because I regularly see other mlbloggers leave their URL in a comment and it shows up just fine (obviously since I can see them). For example, Tiffany’s comment above includes her blog URL. I simply cannot do that and have my comments show up.
-Todd
Todd and Jenn, you should not have anything to worry about. We’ve had PRO theme bloggers on WordPress over a month now and have yet to get a single report from WP or notification emails not coming through. If for some reason there is an issue with your activation email not coming through, there will be a support system in place (details to come).
Todd, on WordPress, your name will be clickable and that will take people to your blog. There will be no need to put your blog URL on comments once we’re all on WordPress.
I made sure my profile is up to date, but still a bit worried because I never got emails (for comments) with the old system…something to do with Comcast I guess. I did get this blog emailed to me, so that is a good sign. Anyway, is there any reason I should be concerned or if my email is correct, it should be ok? Thanks :O) …Jenn
Any chance this has already started? Because I have made two posts that are not showing up on my blog. First, it said my post was created “one hour from now,” so I switched the time and it said “moments ago.” And now for some reason it says “two hours ago.” It’s all visible on the dashboard, but none of it is showing up on my actual blog. Ideas?
– Tiffany
http://redbirdfever.mlblogs.com
Hey, Tiff, looks like you are posting OK – shout back if you still are experiencing any issue. And no, it hasn’t converted yet.
I tried posting 3 times and nothing. Then later on that day, finally they all started showing up. Weird. But my blog has always had issues. I think I’m the only blog that has never had a tag cloud and nobody could ever figure out why.
Thanks for checking into it though!
Tiffany
This is great news and thanks for the heads-up! Can’t wait for WordPress and these exciting upgrades!
Scott