Our number one goal at StumbleUpon is to help you discover great stuff. We are focused on delivering you faster, better and more personalized recommendations, so that each time you click the “Stumble!” button you see more amazing things from every corner of the web!
After careful consideration, we have decided to remove Groups, discontinue the ability to select Themes, and simplify Blogging capabilities. We know some of you have enjoyed having these features, but we believe these changes will allow us to better focus on making stumbling amazing for you and creating a better discovery experience for everyone in the community.
We’ve put together this FAQ, but if your question is not answered here, check our Help Forum to see if it’s already been answered there or send us an email!
What are blogs?
Why are blogs being removed?
When are blogs going to be removed?
What will happen with my blog?
What are my options to export my blog data?
Will I still be able to PhotoBlog?
What will happen with my existing reviews?
Will I still be able to use custom scripts?
Will I still be able to add a background image for my profile?
What are Groups?
Why are Groups being removed?
When are Groups going to be removed?
How can I get information from the Group(s) I belong to?
What are Themes?
Why are Themes being removed?
When are Themes going to be removed?
BLOGGING / HTML REVIEWS
What are blogs?
When we refer to blogs in the context of StumbleUpon, we mean the ability to customize a web page review, by manually adding HTML elements such as rich text and photo-blogging. Users are also able to add “standalone” blog posts that are not associated with any URL reviews.
Why are blogs being removed?
At StumbleUpon, our main focus and strength is providing excellent and personalized recommendations to our users. Over time, we’ve come to realize that we are not able to support and scale a blogging platform, in addition to our recommendation engine. There are wonderful services available today whose primary focus is that of providing a blogging platform with a high level of customization. We are not trying to be a blogging platform, but we strive to be your #1 go-to-place for discovering great things from across the web. This is our mission and our promise to our users.
When are blogs going to be removed?
HTML blogging and standalone blog posts will be accessible until October 24, 2011.
What will happen with my blog?
After October 24th, users with HTML blogs can expect to see only their reviews converted into the text portion of the visually-rich reviews they made, in plain text format. If users have made standalone blog posts, these will no longer be available on their Reviews page.
What are my options to export my blog data?
You can read more about how to export your blog in this Blog Export Guide.
Will I still be able to PhotoBlog?
We are aware that some of you are very fond of PhotoBlogging, which makes it hard for us to let you know that we’ve decided to remove this feature. You will no longer be able to embed photos in your reviews, either by adding the image code manually or by using the “PhotoBlog It” option on the right-click menu for the Firefox StumbleUpon Add-on. If you find a great photo and would like to add it to StumbleUpon, simply thumb-it up and submit it to our index. It will also be saved in your Favorites. We encourage you to write a review about this photo, but you will not be able to embed the photo within your review. In other words, your review will look similar to how reviews already look on Review pages.
What will happen with my existing reviews?
Your existing reviews will remain as they are, but they will be transformed to plain text reviews without any customization such as font color, size, alignment or inclusion of images.
Will I still be able to use custom scripts?
We have not supported custom scripts in the past and will not support them moving forward. Most likely, such custom scripts will no longer work properly due to behind-the-scenes changes we are making to our user interface. We recommend disabling custom scripts, as we cannot provide support for cases where such custom scripts interfere with the layout or functionality of your StumbleUpon profile.
Will I still be able to add a background image for my profile?
You will no longer be able to add a background image to your StumbleUpon profile. If you previously had a background image, you will no longer see it after these changes take effect.
GROUPS
What are Groups?
Groups are StumbleUpon’s own online forums in which users can discuss various topics of interest. Groups can be created by any member who is a Sponsor. Groups provide basic forum conversation capabilities and are currently used by a very small portion of StumbleUpon’s users.
Why are Groups being removed?
In order to continue to deliver the best possible discovery experience, we’ve made the decision to scale back features that are used by only a small percentage of our users, but that require a lot of resources for us to maintain. As such, Groups are part of the site features that will be removed.
When are Groups going to be removed?
Groups will be accessible until October 24, 2011, after which they will be removed permanently from the site.
How can I get information from the Group(s) I belong to?
There are two ways to collect information from the Groups you are in:
- You can manually copy anything you’d like to keep from Groups you’re in; or
- You will be able to export your information relating to your Groups. Please read our Group Export Guide for more details.
THEMES
What are Themes?
Themes give users the ability to choose a different background color for their StumbleUpon profiles. We currently offer 9 themes including the default white theme.
Why are Themes being removed?
In order to continue to deliver the best possible discovery experience, we’ve made the decision to scale back features that are used by only a small percentage of our users, but that require a lot of resources for us to maintain. As such, themes are part of the site features that will be removed.
When are Themes going to be removed?
Themes will be accessible until October 24, 2011, after which your profile will be switched to the default white theme (white background with black font) and the following message will be displayed on your Customize Profile page: