BULLET POINTS! – ANY (STILL) CONFUSED TTT SUBSCRIBERS PLEASE READ

The foolproof guide wasn't quite foolproof enough, so now there's a bulleted guide

If you received this in your email inbox and can see the comments behind the paywall on the site, you're in!

You don’t need to be an active subscriber on here to read this article (as it has important info), but it will only be sent via email to all the addresses we have on file.

Either way, read the list of bullet points for a few more bits of info:

• TTT has moved

• A lot of people don't properly read updates or site news, and they should

• TTT is now on Substack

• www.tomkinstimes.com is now just an archive of 13 years' worth of articles, after a ton of technical issues kept re-arising each time we solved them, making a move essential

• Substack is a publishing platform that publishes all kinds of things, and has built-in subscription software

• Substack is faster, more secure, smoother, easier to publish with, and works out cheaper per subscriber for us

• Substack also sends articles out as newsletters (indeed, this was the original point)

• Substack do free subscriptions and paid subscriptions

• Free subscriptions give you free newsletters to your email inbox, for when content is free

• Paid subscriptions let you read paywalled material, read comments and comment on the website

• If you're subscribing from scratch, you will be given payment and free options

• TTT is now a clusterfuck of sites 😁

• So, not just one TTT Substack – there is the TTT Main Hub, which is ... the main hub

• And there are what I'm calling sub-Substacks, which are smaller, quieter sites, with more bespoke content, co-run with different writers

• These sites are funded and administered independently, albeit under a main umbrella. But a payment made on one of the TTT Substacks will not be viewable to the others, as those running the sub-Substacks will be receiving the payments

• The sub-Substacks are The ZenDen, Dynasty, This Red Planet, and launching next month, The Transfer Hub

• More on the TTT Substack Suite can be read here.

• All preexisting paying subscribers have been given access TTT on Substack to the Main Hub

• Monthly subscribers will have to pay on Substack to continue using the site, as of the 2nd week of October, unless legacy payments have come in more recently, in which case that date will be extended

• The sub-Substacks require separate paid subscriptions (or free ones), but if you were a Benefactor on old TTT, you can request limited-period free access. to the other TTT Substacks

• Substack access operates via email addresses

• We applied your subscription to the email address you used to pay for old TTT (PayPal or Stripe)

• We don't have your password. You don't even necessarily need a password. Just the correct email address. Passwords from the old site are irrelevant here

• If your desired email address does not tally with the one you used in PayPal or Stripe, let us know, as they need to tally

• If you were an active paying subscriber but didn't get this as an email (but read it on the web), it may mean we don't have the correct email address for you

• If you were a Benefactor on old TTT, let us know if you want a couple of months free access to other three TTT Substacks in operation

• We will turn off the subscription software on www.tomkinstimes.com in the coming months, but if you paid with PayPal, if would help if you cancelled your recurring payments before then (log in to PayPal, click on your subscription, and cancel)

• Some people may be billed during this period of transition, and in those cases, I’ll go back and add time from those old subscriptions onto this Substack

• No one who has paid for a subscription via the old site will receive anything but that full subscription time

• Some annual subscriptions still need extending to their correct duration beyond an expiry point of October

• The community and debate will be centred on (this) the Main Hub

• The TTT sub-Substacks, or spokes, may have some commenting, but some will have no commenting. Most will be designed to be read, not debated

• Almost everyone contacting us with a problem could have saved us all time by reading the instructions first

• We can tweak a few things on Substack but the beauty is that you can't start doing crazy customisations, so whoever's Substack you're using will work in much the same way, with just different colour schemes, logos, etc.

• There’s bound to be stuff I’ve overlooked, so I’ll update as and when required

• Email us here for support, but only after reading the above.

Generic Info

• Comment moderation will work as it used to on TTT; i.e. my rules, which I see as fair, with no personal abuse, no spamming, no trolling, and no ultra-sensitive language policing (but offensive words used in offensive ways = ban)

• For any new subscribers, we mostly avoid overt politics, but occasionally allow a political discussion. These are usually enlightening, with a broad spectrum of views and people largely respecting each other's opinions, but some people are very easily offended, and it's generally best to avoid politics unless it directly relates to football

• Comments can be viewed in chronological, top-rated and newest order, but you may need all comments to be loaded before sorting. In the app there's a little icon in the top right corner to toggle between the three options

• No, we can't have the Recent Comments bar back. or popular posts turn yellow, as they were bespoke adjustments in WordPress

• We had to use 51 different plug-ins just to make TTT function on WordPress, and many were costly

• Yes, there is a Substack app, which is great, but it's iOS for the time being; Android due soonish

Too pithy?

Longer versions here: Substack (about the move, and explaining the different sites)

And here: Old TTT (how to make the move, albeit I’ll add these bullet points to the top of that final article too).