So on Friday, October 1, WordPress jerked its “Classic Editor” function away from me, in favor of this new “fill in the blocks and do it our way” functionality. It caught me off guard, which led to a quickie post on Friday. I already had a timed post for Friday evening (my WHCL playlist for that night), but trying to assemble my Saturday “What’s Up in the Neighborhood” blog post was a freakin’ nightmare. I did it, but honestly it looks like onions.
So today, I need to find out how to work with this new WordPress editor. Now supposedly I could pay a big batch of money and get the classic editor restored, but I like to keep my blog costs low, and I love that my blog is free of pop-up advertisements and autoplay gimmicks that distract from the blog flow.
All right. Let’s see if I can work with this.
Test one. Can I do what I used to do in the past, by typing in a YouTube URL and having the video appear? For example, if I’m doing a K-Chuck Radio blog, I need this to work for me.
Okay. Test away.
Well now. Okay, this works.
Now let’s check the Twitter feed. Can I add something from my Twitter page, simply by adding a link, and having it pop up?
Testing, testing, one two three…
All right, that works as well.
Now what if I want to link to a photo on my Flickr page? Will I be able to copy the URL and post it here? Let’s see.
Well, it’ll work, but I still have to insert the caption.
Now comes the big test. I used to be able to drop media into my blog whenever and wherever I wanted. In other words, I could click on a button on my toolbar, a display of my photos and videos would appear, and I could instantly pop a photo into the blog, without using Flickr or YouTube to host it.
Okay, test one. Let’s see if I can pull a picture by opening up the media side bar.
Nope. Wouldn’t let me access it without leaving the page.
Let’s try another trick. There’s a small, unmarked button on the upper left corner. Maybe I can get an image that way.
Okay. That worked. Sorta. It’s a work-around, but as long as I know how to access it, I’ll be fine.
Next test. Can I access any of my hosted videos? Let us see.
Okay. That works as well.
Now for the next test. If I want to show a gallery of images of, oh, let’s say, all my Photo Regionals acceptances over the past ten years, can I do that as a slideshow?
Activate test.
Vivaldi’s Pond. 
Step and Pivot. AGFA Clipper Special f/6.3 camera, Kodak Ektar 100 film. Photo by Chuck Miller. 
After the Rain. Nikon Df camera, HELIOS-81 lens. Photo (c) Chuck Miller, all rights reserved. 
Five Tickets to Ride Day and Night. AGFA Clipper Special f/6.3 camera, Kodak Instamatic Gold 200 film (two rolls) and Kodak Verichrome Pan B&W film. Photo (c) Chuck Miller, all rights reserved.
Yep, Jumbuck, Vivaldi’s Pond, Step and Pivot, After the Rain, Five Tickets to Ride Day and Night. We’re good.
Yeah, this will take some getting used to. I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t like being FORCED to make changes. When I have something that works, I keep it. I’m not someone who buys a new car every two years for the sake of owning a new car. I drive my car until it can’t drive another inch, and then I coax five more miles out of it. Same thing with phones, same thing with computers, same thing with my camera gear.
Trust me, Nikon’s been begging me to get one of their Z-series mirrorless cameras, and I’m more interested in acquiring a second Nikon Df (the silver model) and use it in conjunction with my current Nikon Df (the black model) for some stereoscopic digital photography in the future.
Now maybe there are other features to this upgraded blogging platform that might capture my fancy.
But for now, I’d rather be able to re-do what has worked for me in the past, rather than re-invent what MIGHT work for me in the future.
That’s just me, I guess. 😀
Chuck The Writer 
They are sure it’s “better”. I remain unconvinced. THANKS for the reminder. I just posted a two-line blog on the TU site (I hadn’t posted since JUNE), and they DON’T have the block editor. There was a conversation about switching to it, but the users balked en masse.
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You’ve done well, Chuck. You may still be able to access the classic editor. I found this post that explains how.
https://beetleypete.com/2020/10/03/old-editor-grateful-for-help-and-tips/
I don’t believe you need a paid plan. My fingers are crossed that this works for you.
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There are literally hundreds of WordPress users whose latest posts have been complaints about how awful Block Editor is. Will they listen? Or will they pull a GOP and insist the new method is better because they say so and everyone who disagrees is wrong?
Me, I found a hidden way to the the Classic Editor. But after this insult to all users I’m not sure I can be bothered. The last several posts of mine were done through the Classic Editor hidden in WP Admin “New Post”, which then was removed. Now the link is under “All Posts” and as soon as they find out they left it there they’ll probably take it away. Why on Earth they think tossing an interface that is very similar to most every word processing program we’ve all used for decades was a good idea I don’t know.
This dog is too old to learn new tricks.
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Yes, those workarounds work. What if I want just a link to a YouTube video? I couldn’t figure that out in Gutenberg, but I can in Classic. I wasted the weekend fussing with other options, but now I’m happy until the next problem.
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I join you all in beefing . . .
https://jericsmith.com/2020/10/05/dear-wordpress-your-new-editor-is-terrible/
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