Mrs-O.org Site Changes
Monday, June 8, 2009 at 3:46 PM For the past few weeks, we've been preparing to migrate Mrs-O.org to a new platform. The migration begins this afternoon, and will take 12-24 hours to complete. Once migrated, the new and improved Mrs-O.org will include user registration, as well as a new discussion board (by request!). There are still a few things to be worked out in terms of site function and aesthetics, but we'll happily fine tune with your collective input. As always, email me at contact@mrs-o.org with any feedback.
Update: Thank you for all of the positive feedback thusfar! To answer a few other inquiries that have come up:
- The site is still transitioning from old to new, which I believe is why not all of the photos are loading yet. This should be resolved by tomorrow morning.
- User registration is a feature that was requested by a wide range of Mrs-O.org regulars. All content on the site will be visible without registeration, but to automatically comment or participate in the discussion board, you will need to have a member account. You actually can still comment without registering, however the comment will sit in moderation until it is manually approved.
- For those having trouble registering, some errors may be due to the site migration. If you're still having problems tomorrow, please do let me know.
- On a Mrs. O note - We hope the first lady is enjoying her mini-vacation in London! We heard she was wearing a Hussein Chalayan silk dress at the House of Commons yesterday.
PHOTOS: Thank you for the emails re: photos. They're not loading for us either! They may need to be manually re-uploaded which we'll begin ASAP this morning. Thanks for your patience as we work to correct this.
Outfits
Reader Comments (135)
Mrs. T.,
I miss seeing the time a message was posted. Is there any chance that could be added? It also helps us refer to a particular message when replying.
Thanks.
@Willow,
I just sent you an email. However, when I clicked send, I got an empty white page that said "done" in my browser, but it did not have a message such as "Your email has successfully been sent," as such pages usually do. Below is the text of the email I sent, which is self-explanatory. Let me know if it came through!
<< Hi, Willow -- Trying again. I clicked on your name in the current post's comments, and again got "anpnymous". But when I clicked on your name in the Chat section, your info came up. I checked my profile and my e-address is there, so it should work. Let's see if you get this! >>
Hello Mrs T,
I have visited Mrs-O several times a day sinceI first became aware of the site in 2008 . . . Congratulations! Your new site looks great. I kept checking back to see if the new site was available, because I wanted to be the first to become a member . . . unfortunately, I wasn't first, but I am a member!
For the record . . . photos still aren't visible in IE or Safari . . . minor problems . . . migrating the site was the most difficult part!
That Westminster Abbey outfit will not go down as one of my faves. The combination is making her look much more bottom-heavy than she really is. But what a lovely smile in the second to last photo in Rory's link. Eh, who cares what I think. They're on vacation.
Willow,
You don't get to see the person's actual email addy.
If you are logged on and you click on the name of someone that is 'registered' then you will see a button that says "Send Email"
I've noticed that a couple of times I come back here and I've been automatically logged off .. gotta keep an eye up at the top right to see if ya'll see your names otherwise you need to log back in.
I love it
@Alsace - I just added you to my whitelist and emailed you. You should be able to reply, and I should get it.
Fingers crossed. :o)
Willow, I should clarify. Your name in the comments brings up an "anonymous" message. Your name in the Chat section brings up your screen name "Willow" . More precisely, it brings up the following page:
<< Author Profile for Willow (Registered)
This author is a registered website member, meaning that he or she has identified themselves with their account prior to editing.
Registered AuthorAuthor Information (Secure)
These profile details are only available to other members registered on this website.
Display Name [Willow]
>>
However, when I click on Contact Information,as opposed to the other option, Send Email, it does not give me access to your profile. The system is treating me as if i were not registered.
I can't figure out what is going wrong at which point. There are too many possibilities for me to unpack here, so I hope you did get something from me! It is 8:47 on the East Coast.
Alsace - I did not get an email from you. But you should find an email from me. If you click reply on my email in your in box, I should get it.
Have you found my email in your in box?
Belle,
If you still need help to register
Look over on the right side of the page it says Join Mrs.O Login Register
click on the word Register.
Where it asks for your name - put your user name there too,
otherwise your real name will show up here on the comments.
After you register you will receive an email with a link to confirm.
Hi, Willow, I just answered your email. Did you see my post above? The problems appear to be complicated. I think it may take a while for the webmaster to straighten them all out.
Mrs T, to add yet another request. . . is there a way to click on an element on the page and stay on the same page without being returned to the beginning of the post?
I registered but the link in my email will not work.Can someone help me out?
love the new sight!! Great Job Mrs.T
One thing I really love is the new look/font for "Mrs. O" Much better than the other logo. Much cooler.
Alsace - I just replied to your email we are in communication. VICTORY.
INSTRUCTION FOR RECEIVING MAIL SENT THROUGH THE SITE:
ADD "@mrso.squarespace.com" to your white list (without the quotation marks.
Alsace tried to send me several messages by clicking "send email" at my profile. I didn't get any of them.
Then I remembered what I needed to do to get messages from yahoo groups.
First, I added "@squarespace.com" to my whitelist. I don't think that worked because I couldn't get an email I sent to myself from the profile.
Next, I added "@mrso.squarespace.com" to my whitelist.
When I sent the next email to myself from my profile, I GOT IT ! ! !
I can't view the pics and it's 9:25pm EST. Help?!?
I'm responding to the pics in Rory's Daily Mail post. Thanks, Rory!
I agree, the London outfits seem to be in full-on "deconstruction" mode, something she hasn't attempted even in the U.S.! I'm all for that, and am interested to see where she takes it.
I muat admit, I am now -- finally -- mystified by MO's addiction to the black studded Alaia belt. In earlier appearances, it seemed to perform a function, i.e. cinching her waist, lengthening her legs, making a garment less formal, etc. But today, on the summery silk dress, it seems to have shifted to another mode, to pure "fashion comment."
The closest predecessor I can remember --- and it gave me a similar shock --- was when that great fashion innovator Cyndi Lauper, followed quickly by Madonna, paired fancy nylon petticoats from the 50s with black leather motorcycle jackets and lug boots.
It will be interesting to see where this one goes. To see how self-conscious Mrs. O is being in her London gesture. Will it shift up from being a "fashion comment" to becoming a fashion "statement?" Or will it fall back to being one random gesture, done for the momentary fun of it?
Carmen,
There are three links in that email.
Did you click on the THIRD one?
Actually there are four links in that email.
You need to click on the THIRD one .... the one right ABOVE where it says To confirm your new account registration
Im sorry but what is whitelist?
Thanks Leah D! I actually was using the third link but the secruity codes on my computer were blocking it.
@Alsace - I do believe that belt is a statement. Perhaps it was a special gift? Or it is sentimental for her because it reminds her of some special person or moment (like when she bought it)? I def do think the belt means something. I have a blazer that I bought right after college, after I got my first paycheck at my first real job, and I wear it to this day - and it's been about 10 years. I've thrown it over some of the most random outfits because I just love it.
@ Sierra - A whitelist is important if you know you have a lot of spam filters. If you do, those filters may prevent you from getting emails from certain places. In that case, you must put any email address you don't want blocked on your "whitelist".
If you do not have a lot of spam filters on your email system, you may be able to get emails from mrso.squarespace.com without adding that address to your whitelist.
I hope this is helpful.
If you do not know whether you have a lot of spam filters, you may need to contact your Internet Service Provider to ask about it. From checking your profile, it looks like yours is Verizon.
I'm going to send an email to you from your profile. If you get it, you're all set. If you don't get it, you may have to contact your ISP to see how you can allow emails from mrso.squarespace.com
All of this is necessary only if you would like to allow people to send you emails from this site.
It is now 7:58 Pacific Time. I'll send to you right now.
Sierra -
I got a message saying that my message to you was successfully sent. If you get it in your inbox, you don't have to worry about a whitelist. It's now 8:00 Pacific time.
@IVA - I hear what you are saying. We can all relate to that, the object you love so much, that is so privately meaningful to you it becomes almost a fetish, a way of reconnecting to an originary moment. If that's what the Alaia belt is for MO, it would be humanly understandable. But it also brings up another issue, the distinction between public and private.
There was an earlier commenter, RickyDee, who no longer posts but whose comments were always interesting. He (I'm sure he was a he) once said he observed Mrs. O making the familiar mistakes people make when they move up to the "bigs." It was an unfortunate insider term for the "big leagues," but I think I know what he meant. The same item can have such a different valence when worn by a public rather than a private person.
The beloved Alaia belt worn by the private MO can be an adorable quirk, but worn by the public person, it starts trends, makes deconstructivist comments about fashion, etc. I find it delightful that she still "dresses for herself." But being a public person may imply a more controlled kind of image projection. Is she just being herself, or is she self-consciously re-writing the rules?
I think it's the lack of strong clarity between these two approaches that is causing the disjunction in her reception. Perhaps the days of going to her closet, like you or I, and grabbing what appeals at the moment may be finite.
I registered, got the email, but when I clicked to confirm I got the following:
Secure Connection Failed
mrs-o.org uses an invalid security certificate.
The certificate is only valid for *.squarespace.com
(Error code: ssl_error_bad_cert_domain
* This could be a problem with the server's configuration, or it could be someone trying to impersonate the server.
* If you have connected to this server successfully in the past, the error may be temporary, and you can try again later.
Goodness, I feel like I'm on overload. The migration of the site is occurring on the same day as Mrs. O's most explosive fashion day ever!
Hyde Parker, I got the same message you did and was the first to post it a few pages above. Willow and I worked out several problems. You might find it helpful to go back through the thread and read earlier comments.
IVA, I just wanted to add that I'm not criticizing MO. I am fascinated to watch her process. But I do believe it is a PROCESS that we are watching, not a fully developed philosophy toward public presentation. I don't feel anything she is doing is the last word from her. She is going to revise her approach as she sees what works and what doesn't. She has never been on a stage like this before, where the illumination is considerably brighter than it is for most because she is the "first." It's simply an aspect of her intelligence that she will respond and change as she goes.
@ Alsace - I see what you are saying, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. I think people are getting used to Mrs. O's quirky style. Or it could be me just assuming people are viewing her fashion like I do, which is that she's unpredictable and not constrained by the "rules" of the big leagues...whatever the rules are.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think Mrs. O has made a conscious decision that she'll conform, she'll play the role, but she will not lose herself in this process. So many people enter the "big leagues" and lose themselves, and I think she's determined to not let that happen to herself or her family. That belt could be her retaining that piece of herself - that authentic Mrs. O that lived and worked in Chicago, with 2 spunky daughters, and a husband who only saw the sky as the limit.
She will play the role, do and say the "right things," but at the end of the day, Michelle Obama is not going to sell out. So if she throws people off by wearing her favorite belt randomly, or wears a funky tunic and a purple watch, in my opinion, that's not Mrs. O not being ready for the big leagues as much as it seems like Mrs. O's not going to be swallowed up by the big leagues. It's a delicate balance between doing the traditional First Lady thing and looking the part, all while keeping the same eclectic, no-fuss style she had prior to becoming First Lady. That is the balance I think she is trying to strike.
Just wanted to add, after reading your most recent comment, that I agree it's a process. She is going to evolve (don't we all???), and I think the evolution will be conforming to the look of a traditional First Lady, while not losing her individualism, which is somewhat of an anti-traditional First Lady look. I find the fact that she has rejected the cookie-cutter look, which has been tried and tested and would've been easy to adopt, very admirable. She's blazing her own trail here.
@IVA - I agree. I think we may have overlapped. In my second comment, I tried to clarify that it's not a criticism of her as "not ready" but rather a statement that I feel what we are seeing is part of a process she is engaging in. I don't think it's possible for either us or her to know what she is doing yet. I see the process of finding the answers as to how to retain her "self" (and that of her family), when confronted with a public interaction at this level, as an ongoing one. Even the questions will change from day to day, not to mention year to year (when the children stop watching Nickelodeon). Her framing of the questions you have so aptly raised, and her answers to them on an ongoing basis, will be fascinating for us to watch and comment on as we go. This is what makes this board exciting.
Maureen Dowd has a great great response to the date night controversy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/opinion/10dowd.html
Alsace and IVA - I agree with IVA -- Michelle not willing to be swallowed up by her public role. I've noticed throughout the campaign and now that when she is not making public appearances, and is going to things like the Iowa State Fair, or Fish and Chips in London, she likes to resort to light, flowing dresses from the Gap, or wherever. I think that when she is on her own private time, she wants to wear what she likes, and be as quirky as she pleases. I'll bet it's quite a strain to dress for public consumption day after day.
Her public fashion choices may evolve, but she may retain this quirky side for private wear indefinitely.
Mocha Dem, that's a great Maureen Dowd column. One of her best. Thanks for posting!
Mrs. T, this is my first post. I have been a follower for quite some time. I love the new design. I wanted to tell you about a photo of Mrs. O while in London. The pic can be viewed at obamafoodorama.blogspot.com
Looks good, Mrs. T! Can't wait until all the photo glitches are worked out... I think the overall look will be fantastic!
Re: Dowd's article linked to above. I was surprised at the depth and maturity of this column. Dowd can be so superficial and silly. She can be emasculating (even toward Obama). She can play word games and stretch to fit reality into the framework of fairytale. So, I often consider her a lightweight.
I was so pleased to see her demonstrate some real substance, and to defend President Obama and his family for being real, genuine people, entitled to a balance of hard work and cultural -- and even silly -- play.
Another technical experiment.
I removed my email address from my profile, and tried to send myself an email from my profile. It failed.
I added my email back into my profile, and was able to send myself a message from there.
It appears that we cannot receive emails sent from our profile unless we show our email there.
Hydeparker, when I got that error, I just told Firefox to "make an exception." There's something going on behind the scenes with the site's security certificates, but I know this isn't a phishing or a spam site so I didn't worry about it.
As for some of these latest outfits, she's reminding me of Lisa Bonet back in The Cosby Show days. It's fascinating. Also very interesting to see the evolution. The current board structure makes it easy to go back to the very first post and move forward, and you (or I, at least) can really see a change in her clothing style. (and makeup, and hair.)
@Hyde Parker - I did not experience the problems you are having when I tried to confirm my registration. Hopefully they will be cleared up tomorrow.
congratulations and thank you, mrs. t
i particularly love the new font in the title 'mrs. o'
I think Maureen Dowd writes about two useful columns a year. I look forward to the next one (smile).
Also a great little blog post from the Culture Monster in the LA Times. They have been following the cultural choices of the first family.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/06/obama-lion-king-london-disney-julie-taymor-musical.html
If you take a step back for a moment it is amazing how well rounded they are. Food, fashion, culture, education, community, etc. I don't really know any other family that could participate so effectively in so many areas.
So while we are clearly fashion focused, it helps to remember the scope of their interests and how many people are tracking some aspect of their lives. I really don't know how they do it.
HydeParker and Christina,
I got the same message on FireFox and told it to make the exception.
I emailed Mrs. T about it earlier today but I didn't have the message saved so I will copy Hyde's comment above and email it to Mrs. T.
I think only us folks using Firefox must be getting the message and depending on our settings, I don't know.
Mocha Dem, I so agree about Maureen Dowd. She's incredibly silly almost 90% of the time. And she wrote some really nasty columns about Kerry in 2004 that I haven't forgotten or forgiven.
But this one is totally right on. Nowhere is it stated than when you're president you have to be sitting at your desk all day long. It simply isn't rational to demand this and expect him to stay sane. And since he needs extensive security, yes it's rather expensive. He's not someone that wants to hang out in a fake ranch clearing brush--he wants to go see a show on Broadway!
That said...I doubt these little jaunts will be very frequent.
Edit: OOH! I have nothing to add... Just wanted to edit my comment since now we have the capability! :)
Mocha Dem - I agree with you completely. It's a much richer experience for all of us to follow the multi-dimensional aspects of the Obama family life, rather than restrict ourselves to Mrs. O' fashion only. They are wonderfully exciting people.
I enjoyed your link to Cultural Monster.
Hyde Parker and Leah D,
I also use Foxfire on a Mac.
When I received the error message, I sent my specs to the webmaster via Mrs. T. But after I did that, I found that I was in fact registered and able to use the site just as if the link had worked. I don't understand how this came about, but when it did, I didn't worry about the situation further. I posted to the Chat section, sent emails to registered users, etc. Somehow, I'd bypassed the confirmation process.
Just now after reading your email, I logged out and tried the email link again to make sure the registration was permanent, I set the exception, went through the process, but was still already registered.
I think it can't hurt to send an email to the Contact address, with the exact error message, the version of the browser, and the operating system. The more info the people doing the site get the better they'll understand what's going on.
yayyyyyy!! this is my "tester" comment too....lol
Im so in LOVE with the new logo!!!! so fitting!!!
Other than the photos not showing -- nor being available any other way... Nope. Gonna say thumbs down. Made your site useless.
I love the new layout and the black lettering of are comments as well
To A. Reader,
Please be patient and give Mrs. T a day or two to work out the kinks.
You can not expect perfection the first day.
Leah D - Since A. Reader has not registered, he/she may be someone lacking in good intention toward this site. I could be wrong, but I think that lack of registration could be a sign.