I just posted this on my TypePadTips site and thought I would share it here:

Visiting a couple of my sites recently, I discovered absolutely no content on the main page. Blankness! I hit the rebuild key, looked for some error and when turning up with nothing, sent in a help ticket. This is the response:

Support Ticket Details:
Subject: Content missing
Category: Bug
Status: Awaiting User Response

Ticket Transcript:
On Dec 5, 2005 10:11:14 PM, you (Bud) said:

(at least) Two of my blogs on this account < http://www.400windmills.com/ > and < http://www.typepadtips.com/ > have lost their main pages of content. I think the content is there, in the archives, but not on the front page. I saved and rebuilt one, but that didn’t work.

On Dec 6, 2005 12:42:51 PM, TypePad Customer Support said:

Hi, Budd!

To help with performance and stability, the behavior for the “Recent Posts” and “Recent Comments” sidebar listings has been altered so that it displays only Posts and Comments from the last 30 days.

This has also changed how the main page is displayed since it also only shows posts from the last 30 days. Since you haven’t posted within this time period, that’s probably why your page is blank.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Kymberlie

What? Am I reading this wrong? You have to post all the time for the content of you site to stay up.

Sorry folks, but after all the trouble that TypePad gave us over the past month or two, I’ve about had it and needless to say, if and when I change services, this site will be no more.

*That* explains it!  So strange.  Apparently they haven’t taken into account that content quality might suffer if people are posting only to keep the mainpage up.  But that’s weird that there was no warning or mass email or the like.

update: When I replied to TypePad accusing them of being absurd, they wrote to tell me about a quick fix that would take care of the problem (just changing my MT entries tag from “lastn=’10’” to just the tag without parameters. So why didn’t they tell me this on the initial email? And why did they allow my sites to go blank without warning?

I’m also having problems with some of my other changes - it looks like they’ve changed the way some tags work and for those of us that have manipulated our templates in pro accounts, that could entail significant work. For instance, on one my sites, I created a special page to highlight reader comments. Gone! no more comments show up - they vanished over night and no one at TypePad so much as sent an email saying this could happen!

TypePad really is one of the best blogging services, but I sure hope that the money being thrown at them is not going to their heads. Isn’t the service supposed to get better after they get the capital, not worse? Come on gang, there’s always another competitor lurking around the corner.

This is kind of dishearting after Blogger has now gone down for the second night in a row I was thinking of maybe going to typepad. Any other GOOD sites out there?

They’re still pretty much the most complete package. Wordpress is doing a hosted product now. Squarespace is pretty slick.

However, I should make it clear that my problems with TypePad mostly have to do with the fact that I use advanced templates - I basically just make the pages from scratch using their system as a back-end (why I do that is another topic). So they have apparently changed the way some of the tags interact with the back-end and I have to adjust to that. It’s a major pain, but probably the biggest issue is the lack of communication.

I chalk the problems up to growing pains, although I do fear sloppiness after getting rich.

This is too funny.  Having been with Typepad for over two years I naturally blame them immediately when something goes wrong.  The other day I was extraordinarily prolific (or lonely) and the last two of ten posts didn’t show up.  With increasingly pointed Help Tickets, I voiced my distress and they responded that there was a missing close tag on the sidebar (that I had fooled around with in Advanced Templates between posts).  So while they do indeed experience annoying growing pains (especially aggravating to a hit-by-lightning writer such as myself), they are extremely helpful to track down and fix problems as quickly as they can, and never put down in text the “damned idiot” they must mutter as they do.

If you happened to catch any of my late night/early morning posts you will note that after Blogger fixed the server problems each post came out in duplicate. Gotta luv technology cause ya can’t kill it.

I do like TypePad and in some ways they’ve improved their communication (as in the status-blog, which notably has no archives), but all software companies have communication issues and with so many subscribers I do understand - but if we don’t vent when there are problems, then we’re doomed.

I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to stay with them anyway because I really push my bandwidth limits every month - something I fear they’ll address unilaterally.

p.s. for anyone interested, I started a TypePadTips blog a while back to collect tips for advanced users. I don’t put much on there these days, but it’s out there. (see footer for link)

Today’s service blackout is super irritating. And most of my entries from this week are still MIA. Grrrrr.

Same here, Gwenda.  One thing I’ve done is (when I was able to get into the control panel and weblog posting section) is go to “List Posts” and from there, you’ll see that the latest ones are still intact though they don’t show up on the blog.  I copied and pasted the posts into an e-mail to myself (or you can post into Word) in case they don’t put them up on the weblog.  I had to go back to 12/10 (a few later ones showed up on the weblog but they’ve disappeared again).

I was just now able to republish everything on the design page and it all seems to be back to normal. Whew.

I gave up on Movable Type for good about six months ago.  The whole Six Apart operation is run by inept and avaricious goons.  I should note that if people here continue having problems, Word Press now has a centralized service.  I can’t vouch for it, but I do know that, with the WordPress standalone app, Matt M and company are always very good at fixing bugs and informing the community.  Plus, they exist on donations.  Not unlike the way Six Apart started out before it became all about the money.