After the past few days of wierdness, we’re finally back with the new “Stones Cry Out” blog. We may have a few “growing pains” while some formatting issues get worked out, so please bear with us. Things look, I hope, a bit familiar, but a few things are different. First, an explanation for the change.

Rick Brady has been the man behind SCO since it’s inception. However, he’s decided to get out of the blogging biz. I offered to pick up the day-to-day running of the blog some time ago, while it was still hosted on one of Rick’s personal servers. Today, the blog has officially moved to a hosting server that I use for other things, including my personal blog, and Rick’s involvement with SCO has come to an end. Or perhaps, hopefully, a pause. His contributions will be greatly missed, and he knows he always has a place here at “Stones Cry Out” as the Foundation Stone(tm). If he ever wants to get back in the game, SCO will be here waiting for him.

So what’s changed on the blog. Well first, let’s talk about what’s the same. The current contributors — Jim, Tom, Mark and myself — are still here and writing. We will continue to write on topics that concern the Christian community or on issues that come from our Christian perspectives.

The layout of the blog is pretty much the same. I took a very configurable WordPress theme and adjusted it into a format similar to the old one, with just a few changes. (Nothing’s exact.)

And speaking of the old site, the entire old site is still available. See the “About” box in the upper left of the page. If you see comment boxes attached to the old posts, rest assured that they are completely useless. We moved the pages, not the whole blog backend, so the old site will remain as it was when we left it.

So then, what’s different? Well, just a few things for now, and perhaps a few more down the road.

While comments are still very welcome, since this is a new installation of WordPress, you’ll notice that the first time you do post a comment that it’ll be moderated (i.e. not show up immediately). WordPress keeps track of what e-mail addresses have had a comment approved, and thus once your first comment is approved, all the rest will be, if you use the same e-mail address. This is just FYI so you don’t think we’re cracking down on you personally.

On the right side of the page, you’ll see a place for polls. We’re going to give this a shot with some polls that may be of interest to our readers. Stop by occasionally to see if there’s a new one up, and you can browse the Poll Archives to see the results of previous polls. The first one is easy. It’s just informational to see what sort of “return readership” we have at the blog. If you’d record your answer, even if this is your first time here, we’d appreciate it.

There’ll be a new feature called “YouCry Out”, which is a fancy name for an open thread. If you would like to set the topic (or topics) for others to comment on, this will be your opportunity. If there’s an issue we haven’t covered, or a complaint about the site (or an “atta boy”), bring it up here.

Want to know when someone leaves a comment on a particular post (especially if you’ve made a comment on it)? You can now subscribe to comments, whether or not you’ve left one yourself. Just check the box and enter your e-mail address.

Down the road, we’re looking for some more contributors. Watch this space for updates. And if you’ve seen a feature on another blog that you’d like to see here, let us know. Click the “Contact Us” link in the About box for our e-mail address, or use the form on that page to send us a suggestion.

So that’s what’s happening here at “Stones Cry Out”. Hope you’ll continue to stop by.

Filed under: AdminDoug

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