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Is WordPress Sabotaging Its Bloggers?

Is WordPress Sabotaging Its Bloggers

Why I Think WordPress Is Sabotaging Its Bloggers

Recently, I’ve noticed some weird stuff happening on WordPress and I can’t tell if they are doing it on purpose or if this platform is just incredibly glitchy. I’ve been noticing for a few months now that my following randomly goes up and down. I get about five new followers on average every day. But my follower count hasn’t been reflecting this for quite a while. And when it does go up, it will suddenly go up by like 50 followers even though I didn’t get those many that day. Because of that, I decided to check how many followers I have each night before bed. And recently my followers randomly went from 25,999 to 25,943. That made me wonder, is WordPress sabotaging its bloggers?

Is WordPress Sabotaging Its Bloggers?

It’s not just about the followers. I’ve seen so many weird and suspicious stuff happening on WordPress that has made me feel like we’re being sabotaged. For example, when they introduced their Blaze feature a very large number of bloggers saw a decrease in their traffic, following and overall growth. And it just so happens that Blaze is a feature that helps you promote your blog posts via paid promotion on WordPress. A little too coincidental if you ask me.

Next, I’ve been noticing this whole followers increasing and decreasing thing for a while now. But this is the biggest decrease I’ve seen. Now, with over twenty-five thousand followers I don’t really care about numbers that much. But I do care when I and many other bloggers work their butts off trying to grow their site and their hard work goes to waste because of the platform. This has led to so many of my favourite bloggers who I considered friends either leaving this platform altogether or blogging a lot less.

At first I believed that maybe it’s all a coincidence or that this platform is just very glitchy. But, it’s just odd to me that every glitch has to do with decreasing the organic growth of blogs. Sure, it could be a coincidence. But what’s odd to me is that WordPress used to work fine before. So why did it only get this glitchy after the introduction of Blaze? And the fact that the company is worth so much but they can’t hire someone to help make their platform better? Kind of weird, if you ask me.

I don’t generally buy into conspiracy theories but I do believe that the greed of companies knows no bounds.

Conclusion

Anyway, everything I said is alleged. I’m a little crazy so don’t take my rants and whining too seriously. (Just putting that out there for legal reasons please don’t delete my site WP!)

I just wanted to warn you guys about what has been happening on my site because it could happen to you as well. As i mentioned, we all work hard for our followers and it’s unfair for WP to mess with our sites. I haven’t reached out to a Happiness Engineer because I don’t think they’ll help. Or they’ll attempt to fix the issue and break my site like they did last time. And a handful of followers doesn’t make much of a difference to me at this point. But just be careful and keep an eye on your follower count.

Do feel free to share this post so more people are aware of this and can keep an eye on their following.

What do you think- is WordPress sabotaging its bloggers? Have you noticed a sudden increase or decrease in your followers? Have you experienced a difference in traffic since Blaze was introduced? Let me know in the comments below because I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Or simply stop by and say hi!

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Posted by:

Pooja G

159 responses to “Is WordPress Sabotaging Its Bloggers?”

  1. Clurichaun Avatar
    Clurichaun

    Interesting points.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Thanks so much.

      Reply
  2. Daily Interesting Blogs Avatar
    Daily Interesting Blogs

    Yes, pooja! I noticed, too. But I thought maybe it was a casual thing.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Unfortunately, I don’t know if it is. Hopefully things go back to normal soon!

      Reply
      1. Daily Interesting Blogs Avatar
        Daily Interesting Blogs

        Yes, I hope so😊🙏🙏

        Reply
      2. Tamara Kulish from https://tamarakulish.com/ Avatar
        Tamara Kulish from https://tamarakulish.com/

        I’ve been noticing, and as a blogger with a micro following compared to yours Pooja, I decided to just focus on writing, and to interact as genuinely with people as possible, to just make that my mission and main focus. It is far less stressful and worrying!

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          I totally get that, I honestly think interactions are the best part of WP so concentrating on that is usually the best idea. And if you do leave genuine comments and likes people will do the same on your blog too.

          Reply
  3. A & J PEI Treasures/E Jean Simpson, BEd, BA, MA Avatar
    A & J PEI Treasures/E Jean Simpson, BEd, BA, MA

    Don’t know about sabotaging…and don’t really look at # of readers because mostly few. I do notice that one of the ones I follow, sometimes makes it to the Reader and sometimes doesn’t and I have to go hunting for them to read it even though I get an email. Congrats on the great numbers!

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, I generally didn’t care until I started noticing weird glitches happening and began paying more attention. Thanks!

      Reply
  4. Renard Moreau Avatar
    Renard Moreau

    🤔 Hmm. You have brought up some valid points, Pooja.

    I too have noticed that my follower count fluctuates.

    My educated guess is that WordPress is probably deleting bot accounts and that some of us may have those types of accounts on our list of followers.

    Regarding, Blaze, it cannot be a coincidence that bloggers started having a drop in their traffic during the same time that it was released.

    I will admit that strange things are taking place on WordPress.

    Reply
    1. Feets Avatar
      Feets

      I agree. I look in my spam and see spam comments so I think that may be it. I think sites bring spam on the websites to affect traffic but then can’t control it.

      Reply
    2. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Thanks so much. I assumed it was deleting bot accounts too but I’ve gotten a number of people reaching out to me telling me WP automatically unfollowed my site and they had to refollow it. They reached out to warn me about it. That made me feel like there’s more to it than just spam accounts being deleted.

      I’ve seen it happen on lots of big platforms like IG where paid content is the only content being pushed and prioritised. I hope WP doesn’t become like that because they will really mess up this platform.

      Reply
  5. mahbuttitches Avatar
    mahbuttitches

    Now that you mention it, my count has been inconsistent. I’d agree that paid promos definitely affect performance and disrupts organic growth. It’s why I don’t bother with Facebook or IG much. I don’t understand why I should pay for content when our content is what makes these sites money. It makes 0 sense. Sure, advertisers should pay, but no one should have to pay to get their original works/the entire purpose and content of the site seen. It seems like TikTok is going that way too – prioritizing paid posts or TikTok shop related posts. It’s frustrating and it loses so much bc you end up not seeing what you want to see. I’m so tired of getting advertised to, and I legitimately scroll past any paid stuff now. I want to see what I want to see, not what somebody paid for me to see or is trying to get me to buy. /rant

    I’ve found WP always has ups and downs, hopefully things will not go the way of FB and whatnot.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, prioritising paid content is what has destroyed so many social media platforms. I hope that doesn’t happen on TikTok because it’s the only place I’m getting high numbers of views right now.
      Luckily, I feel like it’s not that bad on WP yet. And fingers crossed it doesn’t become like IG and Facebook because it would kill this platform.

      Reply
      1. mahbuttitches Avatar
        mahbuttitches

        Definitely agree. But in any case, if they ruin it, a new one will appear and we’ll all end up there 🤣 I’ve found the best engagement here, and I love being able to thoroughly explore whatever I’m writing about without character limits or time constraints. The more time I spend here, the less I’m enjoying anywhere else!

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          Of course, that’s life. There’s always another platform 😅
          I love the engagement here too. Although I can get millions of views on TikTok the interactions don’t feel the same. With social media it’s a bit shallow. This is definitely my favourite platform, even with all the glitches I have no intention of leaving. The community is what makes it really special!

          Reply
  6. Ludmilla Louissaint Avatar
    Ludmilla Louissaint

    You are right. It’s not easy to get new subscribers and visits. There are days when I don’t get a single visit, the popularity is going down. Since I have a steady job that pays me, I focus more on that than on WordPress. Sometimes you try your best to publish an article and get no response from the public.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, back in the day you could get hundreds of followers a month without doing anything and now you barely get any followers even when you work hard for it. It’s great that you don’t have to rely on WordPress and have a steady job. Because it’s true a lot of times posts don’t get as much of a response now as they once did.

      Reply
      1. Ludmilla Louissaint Avatar
        Ludmilla Louissaint

        Yes, unfortunately !!

        Reply
  7. cheryloreglia Avatar
    cheryloreglia

    I’ve totally noticed a decrease in traffic since Blaze was introduced. I thought it was maybe because it was summer but it’s odd to see your traffic stagnate just when all these ads for Blaze start popping up. I’m assuming desperate bloggers are willing to pay to get their traffic back. I’m just waiting it out and hoping it corrects itself. We’ll see. Thanks for validating my experience, I thought I was the only one. Hugs, C

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, I thought it would be a short term drop as well so I didn’t care too much about it. But I’ve noticed that most bloggers traffic never picked up after they started introducing Blaze. I’ve seen some people have started using Blaze because of that so I guess their plan worked.
      Same here, I’m hoping they realise that they’re damaging their own platform and things go back to normal. It’s definitely not just you experiencing this!

      Reply
  8. Joseph Glidden Avatar
    Joseph Glidden

    I did notice the other day that you had 25999 followers and was going to congratulate you on reaching 26000. I was surprised to see it drop the next day.

    At 18 followers I don’t have to worry as much. I only had 1 follower at the beginning of the year and I think that was thanks to you, lol. I appreciate you and love reading your blogs.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, this is the biggest drop I’ve seen. And I’ve had a couple of people reach out and tell me that WP automatically unfollowed me from their end and they had to refollow.

      Thanks and I really enjoy your blog too. By the way, just a heads up that the link your username is associated with isn’t your blog. It’s “hermitsville.wordpress.com” so that may be why you’re not getting more followers. I generally have to search you on the Reader to get to your blog. If you update the URL you’ll probably see an increase in traffic and following:)

      Reply
  9. Vanya Wryter Consulting Avatar
    Vanya Wryter Consulting

    I agree that WordPress is glitching. My numbers are weird. I would get a bunch of new followers but my number count would stay the same. I also find changes to my Reader that make it difficult to find posts to read. I mostly blog to promote what I do for work (since my blog is attached to my website), so these glitches to the blog don’t bother me that much. It would bother me more if blogging were my main reason for being on WordPress.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, it’s been acting really weird for the past two years or so. I’ve had so many issues with it recently which I never had to deal with before.
      I’m glad it’s not that big of an issue for you and thankfully it won’t affect your site/work that much.

      Reply
      1. Vanya Wryter Consulting Avatar
        Vanya Wryter Consulting

        I’m glad about that too, although I wanted to start a personal blog for my fictional short stories. Now I’m not sure, considering all the issues.

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          I would recommend platforms like Vocal that pay per view. I’ve made a decent amount of Vocal with just one post so if you post regularly you can make a decent amount compared to WordAds.

          Reply
          1. Vanya Wryter Consulting Avatar
            Vanya Wryter Consulting

            Thanks. Haven’t heard of it before. I’ve heard of Medium but it was difficult to get traction unless you post regularly.

            Reply
            1. Pooja G Avatar
              Pooja G

              I didn’t like Medium either but Vocal is really good. I forgot about my account but kept getting traffic on my post and ended up making a decent amount.

              Reply
              1. Vanya Wryter Consulting Avatar
                Vanya Wryter Consulting

                Thanks for the share. I’ll look into it.

                Reply
                1. Pooja G Avatar
                  Pooja G

                  No problem.

                  Reply
  10. Feets Avatar
    Feets

    I wasn’t here before Blaze but I feel like they’re sabotaging for sure.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised since all the major platforms are doing it. That’s what destroyed IG too.

      Reply
  11. DEVANG UPADHYAYA Avatar
    DEVANG UPADHYAYA

    I feel now people don’t care!

    Wp never actually improved or step up. It should have, but it didn’t. Now there are so many other incredible options and people just stopped bothering about WP.

    Many people have stopped blogging here, as their experience is ruined, courtesy by WP.

    I don’t have time to handle such shit. Life is keeping me busy elsewhere. Probably will reduce my frequency of coming here and as seeing things are with Wp, I may quit someday.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, a lot of people have given up or left for better platforms because they can’t grow here organically anymore. I understand why many people have quit and if you decide to do so too. If I had a smaller platform I wouldn’t stay here either because it’s nearly impossible to grow right now.

      Reply
      1. DEVANG UPADHYAYA Avatar
        DEVANG UPADHYAYA

        TBH
        I am still here because of you 🙇🏻‍♂️

        If you get opportunity to read someone’s work and if that’s making you happy, then the stay is worth it.

        I receive notification and read your blog post first thing in morning.

        I get inspired to keep pushing.

        I do love writing, I love blogging. But the overall experience is terrible. My issue is not fixed yet. And they are giving me response like jalebi

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          Thanks, I really appreciate that and I have to admit I would be extremely sad if you left this platform and you would very much be missed.

          Aw sorry, trust me I know how frustrating that is. Hopefully your jalebi responses eventually turn into fafda’s 😊

          Reply
          1. DEVANG UPADHYAYA Avatar
            DEVANG UPADHYAYA

            The only reason why I’m here is I able to get read work of extremely talented bloggers like you. 🤜🏻

            Otherwise, I can write elsewhere. There are various mediums. I did tried LinkedIn, but there audience is bit different.

            Fafda responses 😂
            That’s typical gujarati 🤭🤗

            Reply
            1. Pooja G Avatar
              Pooja G

              Same here, I stick around for the community not because of the platform.

              Lol ikr I’m a Guju deep down 😅 Although I’ve never actually had Fafda 😩

              Reply
              1. DEVANG UPADHYAYA Avatar
                DEVANG UPADHYAYA

                I would say fafda is insipid, little namkeen

                I don’t understand why it’s eaten with mirchi and jalebi. I don’t like any of these.
                You can make it at home, but I don’t think you will like oily stuff. It baths in oil 😝

                Reply
                1. Pooja G Avatar
                  Pooja G

                  I think fafda is more like Gujarati style ganthia. Mirchi and jalebi are perfect with something fried because it balances out the greasiness and you can eat more 😅
                  That’s why I’ve never eaten fafda cos it’s too oily and my mum would never let me make them at home lol 😜

                  Reply
                  1. DEVANG UPADHYAYA Avatar
                    DEVANG UPADHYAYA

                    Well yeah

                    I Can’t and and won’t eat anything from outside. Bad for my hardwork and health. Plus besan doesn’t suit me.

                    My mother made some namak pare ( snacks). Those are not that healthy, but atleast homemade 😊

                    Reply
                    1. Pooja G Avatar
                      Pooja G

                      Homemade snacks are still much healthier than outside ones even if they are fried. That’s good, stick with eating healthy and avoid outside foods. You worked hard to lose weight and get healthier, don’t let it go to waste.

                    2. DEVANG UPADHYAYA Avatar
                      DEVANG UPADHYAYA

                      It’s been more then a year, so I’m enjoying this.
                      It’s hard sometimes, but overall keeping me able.

                      Take care dear friend 🤜🏻

                    3. Pooja G Avatar
                      Pooja G

                      All change is difficult but keep at it if you’re seeing positive results.

                    4. DEVANG UPADHYAYA Avatar
                      DEVANG UPADHYAYA

                      Just to remind you, this post is still about how Wp is sabotaging bloggers. Looks like I sabotaged your blog post, with this fafda jalebi and food, haha

                    5. Pooja G Avatar
                      Pooja G

                      Lol, fafda and jalebi are always welcome here 😅

  12. J.S. Pailly Avatar
    J.S. Pailly

    I have noticed WordPress being glitchy lately, and a few of my followers have been telling me they’re having issues liking or commenting on my posts. I guess I missed the memo about Blaze. When was that introduced?

    Reply
    1. Vadim Dovganyuk (SnowCalmth) Avatar
      Vadim Dovganyuk (SnowCalmth)

      Officially, Blaze was introduced to the public in January of this year. However, it has been available for some select people, including myself, since late last year.

      Reply
      1. J.S. Pailly Avatar
        J.S. Pailly

        Thanks! I feel like this has been happening for about a year, give or take a few months, so I guess the time frame matches up.

        Reply
    2. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      It was introduced last year and for some this year. I’ve had it since last year. And yeah, people are having a lot of issues with liking and commenting since then. It was never something I experienced before Blaze.

      Reply
  13. ianscyberspace Avatar
    ianscyberspace

    I haven’t noticed anything unusual on my page.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      I’m glad to hear that, hopefully it stays that way.

      Reply
  14. Deborah L Adams Avatar
    Deborah L Adams

    I know LinkedIn was purging bots, defunct accounts, etc.
    I really enjoy reading most of your posts. I hope you don’t leave the platform.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, I assumed they had deleted some spam/bot accounts but then people started reaching out and telling me that they were unfollowed from my site automatically.
      Thanks and I plan on staying.

      Reply
  15. sharonsiconictravelphotographyblog Avatar
    sharonsiconictravelphotographyblog

    I have had issues with Jetpack. It kicks me off almost every time I post a comment on someone’s blog. Half the time the comment goes through half the time it does not. Certain things do not work for me. I am no where near the followers you have. I have noticed there are people who put up a few posts then never seem to post again. Also there are people liking posts and you click on theirs and I get an error message. I can not get to their site. I wonder if that is affecting things or if they never started making blog posts.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, Jetpack can be glitchy too. It’s so annoying. Some of those usernames aren’t correctly linked to their blogs so that causes the error. I’ve noticed that as well and have experienced that a couple of times.

      Reply
      1. sharonsiconictravelphotographyblog Avatar
        sharonsiconictravelphotographyblog

        I have notified Word Press about not being able to get to someone’s blog. They just say they deleted it. Not sure that is really the case every time.

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          No that’s rarely the case. Usually they just changed their domain and forgot to update it on their profile.

          Reply
  16. Destiny Avatar
    Destiny

    many are complaining about these drops and glitches… clearly annoying. Hope it’s resolved 🤍

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, hopefully WP realises their mistakes and makes changes 💕

      Reply
      1. Destiny Avatar
        Destiny

        🤞🤍

        Reply
  17. byngnigel Avatar
    byngnigel

    I do believe they have suppressed the reach of many bloggers to force users to buy into their business model. All my followers are via the app. So technically I have no followers unless they subscribe via email. I am reassessing my options.
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the issue Pooja G. 👏🙏

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, I am thinking that too because it’s too much of a coincidence. The majority of my followers are via WP too but I have a decent number of email followers as well due to SEO. Thanks for reading.

      Reply
      1. byngnigel Avatar
        byngnigel

        Hmm.. they rely on your creativity for content and for engagement. And now they’re effectively monetizing your content, while squeezing you to spend more on their services. Capitalism at its finest. 💪👏

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          That’s exactly it. Users are the reason this platform exists. Our creativity is what helped it become as large as it is now and let’s be honest we stick around because of the community not because this platform is that great. Capitalism is going to be the death of us all.

          Reply
  18. Lady A Avatar
    Lady A

    I think the key to enjoying this fantastic creative platform is not to pay any attention to the numbers at all. All they do is erode joy.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      It’s true. It’s best to enjoy blogging and not pay too much attention to the stats. The issue I have though is that it annoys me when I work really had to grow my site and I can’t do that anymore due to the interference from WP. And many of my favourite bloggers have moved to other platforms due to this which really sucks.

      Reply
  19. Cindy Georgakas Avatar
    Cindy Georgakas

    I’ve noticed that my numbers haven’t moved much at all. I always set goals and to be safe I said I should hit 5,000 by xmas. I should get there way before but who knows/. it truly is a joke how things changed. Or many people are sick of hearing about babies. lol 💗

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, it was so much easier to grow back in the day. Now it takes much longer and you have to put in so much work. Of course not, we love the babies! 💕

      Reply
      1. Cindy Georgakas Avatar
        Cindy Georgakas

        It’s really wild. I just have surrendered or I’m sick or the babies. 💞

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          It’s been a crazy few weeks for you!

          Reply
          1. Cindy Georgakas Avatar
            Cindy Georgakas

            I tell you.. thanks for being here❣️

            Reply
            1. Pooja G Avatar
              Pooja G

              Of course, happy to be! 💕

              Reply
  20. Sadje Avatar
    Sadje

    I do agree that with the introduction of Blaze feature, the posts from all those I follow aren’t showing in my reader. Not a coincidence at all.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      I’ve had this issue too and have to manually search some blogs to read their latest posts. It’s definitely not feeling like a coincidence.

      Reply
      1. Sadje Avatar
        Sadje

        I don’t think people are going to use Blaze to promote their posts, not personal bloggers.

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          Yeah, especially because it’s not very effective. Some people I work with tried it but didn’t see much growth overall which is why they ended up hiring me.

          Reply
          1. Sadje Avatar
            Sadje

            That should mean that they should stop interfering with the natural flow of readership.

            Reply
            1. Pooja G Avatar
              Pooja G

              You would think so but they’re just making things worse. I hope they come to their senses soon.

              Reply
              1. Sadje Avatar
                Sadje

                I hope so too.

                Reply
  21. SHALOM JAPHET Avatar
    SHALOM JAPHET

    I noticed a decrease in my traffic and thought maybe I wasn’t doing something right.

    Thanks for this enlightenment. I’ll keep a close eye 👀 on my site.

    Happy New Month Pooja.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      You can do everything right and still see no growth these days. It’s definitely not just you and a large number of bloggers are having trouble with traffic. Thanks and happy September to you as well.

      Reply
  22. Opher Avatar
    Opher

    Yes I think you’re right. Blaze is the key. They want to make money out of us. My traffic is now a fifth of what it was before Blaze. I bet if I paid for Blaze it would go back up to what it was or more. It’s a ploy!

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Absolutely, they just want us to use Blaze and promote our posts instead of having organic traffic which is ridiculous to me. Shouldn’t pushing our content just be part of the platforms goals without the money considering that’s why we’re here.

      Reply
  23. Bookstooge Avatar
    Bookstooge

    I KNOW that people have “unfollowed” me without their consent. Because they asked me if I had removed them, which I hadn’t. So I’m afraid the conspiracy theories are real. Not very reassuring is it?
    I really think WP is shooting itself in the foot messing around like this…

    Reply
    1. whysprs Avatar
      whysprs

      So they seem to be doing the whole YouTube thing.. guess ill be watching out for that

      Reply
    2. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      I’ve had the same issue and people have reached out and let me know that they “unfollowed” my blog without knowing and had to refollow it. I’ve also seen that I’ve unfollowed sites in the past without actually doing so and I’ve had to refollow them when I notice they’re no longer on my Reader.
      I agree, they’re destroying themselves since so many bloggers have left already due to these issues.

      Reply
  24. Stefanie Neumann Avatar
    Stefanie Neumann

    Thank you for speaking up about this, Pooja.

    I haven’t observed the same things you did, but have been wondering along similar lines for other reasons.

    I have a free plan on WordPress and appreciate this. But if essential features (like sharing the post with someone else before publishing for editing purposes) are suddenly and silently taken from the free plan, and you are now being asked to pay for them while the site itself is getting more and more finicky to handle, it always makes me wonder because I have seen this on so many platforms, before – including social networks like Google+ and X.

    Also, I am being harassed by crawler IDs (Pomeranian puppies are their disguise) and upon my inquiry on how to block those folks, I was told that blocking features make no sense as people could change their ID, but I could make my site private, for a while. (I’m being re-followed by the same ID over and over again, and they then act as a space holder for other crawlers if I don’t remove them instantly.)

    I don’t know about the intentions of WordPress, but in the past only observed this kind of response from people who have destroyed the platforms they were supposed to care for.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Thanks so much. Yes, more and more features are being removed from the free plan. I used to be on the free plan for years and so much more was available to us back then. This was about five years ago. The prices are going up while the platform becomes more unstable every day. And now, it’s hard to even grow which makes you wonder if it’s worth paying for a plan.

      I was briefly harassed by the Pomeranian bots too but blocking their IP address fixed the issue for me. The amount of spam has increased so much and WP is doing nothing about it at all.

      I saw IG doing the same things WP is doing now and IG is pretty dead for content creators now except for those that pay for ads.

      Reply
      1. Stefanie Neumann Avatar
        Stefanie Neumann

        That is exactly my thought – when the platform is becoming increasingly instable, why should I pay money for that? Experience shows it’s no better on the paid services, and you have just validated exactly that.

        Let me guess:
        You can only block an IP address when you are on a paid plan?
        Upon my inquiry, I was told by the WordPress support on Twitter, this was one of the things that would not make sense to offer.

        It’s devastating to see a platform on which one has invested a lot of time and love to create a good space falling apart. Also, there are so many beautiful connections.

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          Exactly, the plans are all so expensive and if you’re not getting what you paid for what’s the point.

          No you can block an IP address no matter what if I’m not wrong: https://www.malcare.com/blog/how-to-block-ip-addresses-in-wordpress/

          WordPress saved me in many ways and I joined this platform when I felt truly alone and at rock bottom. But this community was so inclusive, kind and supportive. Watching my favourite bloggers leave for different platforms and losing touch with them has been heartbreaking. And watching them destroy this platform which was once one of the best platforms on the internet is hard to watch.

          Reply
          1. Stefanie Neumann Avatar
            Stefanie Neumann

            Oh, thank you very much for the link – I’ve saved it and will look into that. You should get paid by WP for giving me this info, as their people obviously weren’t able to do so.

            I hear you regarding the heartbreak over the demise of a platform where such connections have grown. I’m currently watching the same on Twitter, where a brilliant writing community begins to fall apart, and I’ve seen it before on Google+ where I lost a lot of dear contacts at the time. This time, I’m taking precautions, where I can. But it is still painful to observe.

            Reply
            1. Pooja G Avatar
              Pooja G

              You’re very welcome. I’ve dealt with similar issues due to spam/bot accounts and had to do the research myself as the HE’s are rarely of much help. I hope this helps you solve the issue.

              Yes, Twitter used to be a really great platform for writers but recently it’s gone downhill quite fast. Not too familiar with Google+ but that’s really sad. The same thing is happening with Instagram as well. It really does suck watching platforms we enjoyed go slowly die.

              Reply
  25. whysprs Avatar
    whysprs

    I just started out in july, so the blaze issue hasnt been a factor for me but have had issues with the templates going wonky and then have to redo my entire page, which I still havnt been able to get to work right since they changed the editor last month. Its been a horrid experiance for me rather via jetpack or the wp app, both have the same issues. Have had multiple posts of the same or even empty posts get posted because it didnt save as it posted. WordPress advice was “use notepad so you don’t loose your post” which left me shaking my head as to such an answer.. you would think they would want to fix it. And then the note of the 100 year plan they posted about kinda made me wonder if they plan on actually being around for much longer.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Wow, that is such a ridiculous response. But I’m not surprised. They never want to admit there is an issue and when they are forced to admit it they end up giving you some ridiculous solution instead of actually fixing the glitch.
      Yeah, I don’t think 100 years is realistic because I doubt they’ll be here for a long time if they continue running this platform to the ground as they as currently doing.

      Reply
      1. whysprs Avatar
        whysprs

        I agree with ya there. I mean 35 k seems like a get rich fast scam to me

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          Definitely a scam, they’re trying to make you pay for something you have no idea will actually be here for the next 100 years.

          Reply
          1. whysprs Avatar
            whysprs

            Even at that, when i bought my domain, i paid under $10, if i would uave stretched it out that far, it still wouldnt have costed me 35k

            Reply
            1. Pooja G Avatar
              Pooja G

              Yeah, 35k is an absolutely ridiculous amount. And trying to make money off bloggers after they die is just crazy.

              Reply
              1. whysprs Avatar
                whysprs

                Absolutely

                Reply
  26. utahan15 Avatar
    utahan15

    hacked!
    taken a back
    pair of noia
    such less
    we lack
    the tact
    was it the wind
    or another
    cut in that
    fear triology
    gupta?

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Fear rules the world these days

      Reply
      1. utahan15 Avatar
        utahan15

        it is , after all, a prime motivator and inhibitor.

        Reply
  27. Milena Alien Avatar
    Milena Alien

    The sight works slower and it drives me crazy, it has never been the fastest to begin with now it’s getting worse.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yes, WP is known for being slow and it’s been getting worse lately.

      Reply
      1. Milena Alien Avatar
        Milena Alien

        Unfortunately things are not looking up

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          Fingers crossed that they eventually will. It’ll suck if this platform dies like Instagram and Facebook.

          Reply
          1. Milena Alien Avatar
            Milena Alien

            Nothing stays gold, as they say. Things come and go, it’s the way of life. The most successful species are the ones able to adapt quickly

            Reply
            1. Pooja G Avatar
              Pooja G

              True, everything comes and gos. We just have to be ready to start from scratch on a different platform.

              Reply
              1. Milena Alien Avatar
                Milena Alien

                It’s not easy though

                Reply
                1. Pooja G Avatar
                  Pooja G

                  It’s incredibly tough but it’s a part of life.

                  Reply
  28. Eugi Avatar
    Eugi

    I feel they are weeding out the bots. From the WP newsletters I’ve read, frequency of updates is due to an increase in hackers. I don’t feel WP would go out of their way to sabotage bloggers but may have strenthened their internal settings to keep the bad guys out. Another blogger friend informed me when she tried to get help with her blog, the HE’s told her they were having a difficult time with the FSE themes and the learning curve and could hardly keep up. I don’t use Blaze because I don’t feel it is worthwhile.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      I don’t find Blaze worthwhile either, some blogging friends have tried it but only saw an increase in views not followers.
      That was my first assumption too but some people have reached out to me to tell me their blog had automatically unfollowed mine and they had to refollow it which is so odd. It may just be some kind of glitch or a consequence of hacking.

      Reply
      1. Eugi Avatar
        Eugi

        Quite some time ago that happened where a blog automatically unfollowed another. Many complained and were told it was a problem with their blog. This also happened to me but I haven’t had the problem in a while. I guess we will never know.

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          Yeah, this issue has been happening but I feel like it’s become more recently. We’ll never know but I just hope WP fixes its issues.

          Reply
  29. Is Wordpress deliberately sabotaging its bloggers to get them to pay to use Blaze? – Opher's World

    […] Is WordPress Sabotaging Its Bloggers? – Lifesfinewhine […]

    Reply
  30. John Avatar
    John

    If WP were to delete your blog, they would be guilty of censorship! honestly, I don’t see what you are describing here on my blog, I have barely a handful of followers anyway. I hope this situation goes away for you, Pooja.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      It seems like I can’t do much to stop them from censoring me but hopefully they know better than to do that. Glad you’re not experiencing any of this and thank you!

      Reply
      1. John Avatar
        John

        I’ve always following you, Pooja, I would be so bummed out!

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          Thanks, I’d miss you too and honestly the community is the only thing that’s keeping me on WP right now.

          Reply
          1. John Avatar
            John

            Thanks, and me too, Pooja. ❤️

            Reply
            1. Pooja G Avatar
              Pooja G

              ❤️😊

              Reply
              1. John Avatar
                John

                🥰❤️

                Reply
  31. Mark Edward Jabbour Avatar
    Mark Edward Jabbour

    The Internet is an unreliable platform. Too big. I think WP has some 60 million bloggers. All content is looked at by thousands of actual humans to screen for unacceptable content. These people get paid pennies. They can screw with everything, intentionally or not.
    No doubt there is a lot of f***ery going on.
    WP is trying to manage it and also make money. Who isn’t?
    It’s driving us all insane.
    Hang in there.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, it’s true. Their workers are severely underpaid and that’s why the Happiness Engineers stopped caring and stopped helping. They were a lot better before. Now there isn’t enough of them and they’re not paid enough for the amount of work that’s given to them.
      Thanks. You’re right that’s what we have to do. We have to hang in there.

      Reply
  32. clcouch123 Avatar
    clcouch123

    You told me that changes are made in preference to those who pay (and maybe pay more than the basic pay) for the service, and I think you’re right. My own limitations happen, and I try to work around them. I have to work around them, unless I go to another provider. Sigh.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, unfortunately we don’t have a lot of other options. And let me tell you, other providers aren’t that great either. The only positive experiences I’ve had are on Vocal.

      Reply
  33. Janice Reid Avatar
    Janice Reid

    I guess I don’t have that many followers for them to even bother with me 🤣🤣.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      That you know of! Lol jk 😅

      Reply
  34. iambrotherlove Avatar
    iambrotherlove

    I would not be surprised if WP is sabotaging its bloggers, things to be aware of. Or something else could be happening, hackers or bots?, either way hopefully the issue goes away soon

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      I personally don’t know what’s going on as well since WP doesn’t really keep users in the loop much. I assumed they got rid of bots or something as well but then people reached out to me to let me know they were randomly removed my my followers list and had to refollow my site when they noticed. Yeah, hope so too.

      Reply
  35. David Avatar
    David

    Interesting observations, Pooja.

    I mean, I don’t have many followers. Very slow growth seems to be the only trend I’ve noticed. But I’m not in it for the followers. Mostly, I’m ust tryna keep myself somewhat integrated & regulated. 🤷🏼‍♂️

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Thanks so much.

      That’s great, I think personal bloggers are probably most safe using WP as growth isn’t as big of a goal compared to just sharing content.

      Reply
  36. Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud Avatar
    Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

    Totally agree. One day I’ll have 450 and then it’ll go to 100 and up or down from there, but inconsistent and hard to make sense out of.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      That’s so odd. It happens to me too. Hopefully they fix whatever is causing these fluctuations.

      Reply
      1. Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud Avatar
        Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

        I sure like the high numbers but I figure it could be any kind of algorithm or SEO fluctuation, so I’m not worried.

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          Yes, it’s probably mostly SEO.

          Reply
  37. Steve Avatar
    Steve

    Interesting. In the last few days I noticed a change in the way the dialogue box comes up for opening a link in a new window. WP had changed this, which added several keystrokes each time. But a few days ago I noticed they streamlined the process. I wondered if my request/comment to the Happiness Engineers made a difference… the one I most recently worked with, Robin, was super helpful and even complimented me on my site!

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yes, I noticed that too. Maybe so, some of the Happiness Engineers are super helpful and I’ve had a few good experiences recently too!

      Reply
  38. Michele Lee Avatar
    Michele Lee

    🤔 Recently, I’ve noticed posts don’t update straightaway. Takes a good while. Frustrating! Also, photos randomly disappear. That has been happening for a while.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      That’s so annoying! These glitches are quite common unfortunately, I just hope they fix them 😩

      Reply
  39. Reaseaorg Avatar
    Reaseaorg

    Recently I have definitely seen a decrease in growth rate of my site and with similar interaction this does seem a little unusual. Shame about your follower numbers. There is definitely something going on. I like how you can see comments from the reader feed now though …

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Yeah, a lot of bloggers have experienced a decrease in growth. It kind of sucks since this used to be a vibrant community and growth was easy back in the day. Yeah, I like that we can see comments on the Reader too.

      Reply
  40. jesusluvsall Avatar
    jesusluvsall

    I have noticed the decrease since they introduced Blaze. As someone with a paid site, not a free one, it is offensive.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Same here, I have a paid site too and I find it ridiculous that they want us to pay even more just to get our traffic back.

      Reply
  41. Rising Star Avatar
    Rising Star

    I think I just experienced a traffic change. Have you ever used blaze?

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      No but some blogging friends have and it’s not very effective. From what I’ve heard, it improves your traffic as it increases your impressions but it doesn’t actually do much to grow followers or increase likes and comments.

      Reply
      1. Rising Star Avatar
        Rising Star

        Hmm, I see, that’s what I was expecting about it…. Thanks dear for confirmation 🤗💕, lol

        Reply
        1. Pooja G Avatar
          Pooja G

          You’re welcome 😊

          Reply
  42. Belladonna Avatar
    Belladonna

    Yes!!!!! I think they are trying to push us to use Blaze for selfish reasons. My views have decreased but I refuse to put dime into Blaze!

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      I think so too, so annoying! Same here, I’m not using Blaze no matter what!

      Reply
      1. Belladonna Avatar
        Belladonna

        Exactly!

        Reply
  43. Smelly Socks and Garden Peas Avatar
    Smelly Socks and Garden Peas

    I’m blogging less, but this isn’t why. I’m just busy and distracted.

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      That makes sense, we can get busy with life sometimes.

      Reply
  44. Stephnie Morthi Avatar
    Stephnie Morthi

    💕✌️👏

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      😊💕

      Reply
  45. Jayshree Thakur Avatar
    Jayshree Thakur

    Intresting

    Reply
    1. Pooja G Avatar
      Pooja G

      Thank you.

      Reply

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