Get The Ink Out: Relax, rejoice: Web comments are back

I am sure you have been wondering where this column went. Chicago did not keep me, but I have added the Windy City to my list of favorite places. It’s right up there with San Francisco. The truth about my absence is that I’ve been swamped with changes to our websites.

The latest, and some would argue greatest, change has been the addition of comments. They went live Tuesday night, but were perfected Wednesday. I delayed delivering the news just in case they shouldn’t be completely wonderful, but now that we’ve had a few comments posted (thanks, Geoff West of A Bubbling Cauldron), I know it’s working as intended.

Yes, you will have to re-register, but this time it’s even easier. You can link to any existing account you may have on Facebook, Google (read: Gmail), Yahoo, AOL, Twitter or MySpace.

When you first sign in, you are prompted to select a username. Much like students going off to college, this can be a chance to create a whole new identity for yourself. Or you can stick with what’s tried and true. It’s really up to you, but please don’t steal someone else’s name to impersonate him or her. I will delete your account if that happens.

As happy as I am that our readers can voice their opinions once again, I’m also thrilled with our new obituaries page. It seems everyone missed these more than the comments.

The direct link to the page is https://www.dailypilot.com/news/obituaries. Right now I have it set to display the last 22 entries; however, this is flexible. So if obituaries are disappearing from the page too quickly, shoot me an e-mail or give me a call. If the obituary you are looking for isn’t on the page, search for the person’s name. It’s still on the site, just not displayed.

If you are looking to get an obituary into the Daily Pilot, or either of our sister papers, the Huntington Beach Independent and Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot, contact Sandrine Gann at (714) 966-4688 or sandrine.gann@latimes.com.

I field a lot of calls looking for our archives. As we work on getting the search function up to snuff on the website, there are two options to find stories older than a month: by date and by topic.

To find a story by date, start here: articles.dailypilot.com/2010/jul/01.

For stories sorted by topic, check out articles.dailypilot.com.

It’s been a busy month, with no signs of slowing down — just how I like it.

Web Editor JAMIE ROWE can be reached at jamie.rowe@latimes.com or (714) 966-4634. Squee has a long list of well-wishes to deliver. First, congratulations to Auntie Kelli and Jeff Deruso for graduating from high school. Second, happy 21st birthday to Uncle Taylor. Remember to drink lots of water! And, finally, hurray to Ashley Deruso for graduating from UC Davis. He can’t wait to see you as his main veterinarian.