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The Followers Gadget, And The Vibrating Sidebar

We get occasional odd problem reports in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken about mysterious display oddities.

Why is my sidebar vibrating?

Here I'll note that the problem about "vibrating" has been reported, using various synonyms - in different syntaxes.

This symptom has many possible phrasings, as mentioned in different forum problem reports.

  • Dancing.
  • Jiggling.
  • Jumping.
  • Leaping.
  • Moving.
  • Shaking.
  • Shimmering.
  • Trembling.
  • Vibrating.
  • Waving.
  • Wiggling.

Identifying the words used, in the problem reports, is one challenge.

The problem appears to involve the Followers gadget (possibly, specific versions of Followers), being positioned at the top of the sidebar, above other accessories.

One can only wonder what terms are used, in non English speaking countries.

This problem is not easy to identify in quantity, because of the many different synonyms used - and with some synonyms used, in different syntaxes.

Why does my sidebar vibrate?

or

My sidebar vibrates!

instead of

Why is my sidebar vibrating?

for one example. This makes any forum text search, to look for similar reports, require multiple, exhaustive attempts.

The list of 11 words, above, is just a list of examples, alphabetised (as I do with most lists). I have seen all 11 words (33 possible syntax combinations), and more, from time to time, in various blog comments, blog posts, and forum questions.

Positioning of the Followers gadget can affect multiple template gadgets.

Some blog owners have positioned the Followers gadget above the posts column - or even beneath the blog title / description (and spread across the entire blog width). This will make the posts column - or even the posts / sidebars (the entire blog width) - subject to this effect.

The problem appears to involve the Chrome (possibly Safari too) browser - and is visible only at specific Zoom levels.

If you see this problem when viewing someone else's blog, try zooming in or out, and see if the problem persists. Chances are, it will stop. Also, try using a different browser.

If you see this problem when you are viewing your blog, try repositioning the Followers gadget lower in the sidebar. Observe what gadgets are positioned below the Followers gadget, as you move the gadget downward.

Comments

Dr Sonia S V said…
Thank you Chuck I experienced this problem several times in the past week and you are spot on...I use chrome and high magnification setting!
Thanks Chuck - I've got the dreaded shakes ... only recently started after I tried to alter something - which failed too: so I need to correct that somehow and also I will try your recommendations ...

Cheers Hilary
Jeff White said…
Thanks... moving my 'Followers' fixed my vibrating sidebar. Cheers.
Umā said…
Thanks. I had to move my followers to the bottom of the sidebar - I hadn't noticed that only what was beneath the followers box was jiggling....
Thank you! I changed the zoom level and that fixed the problem.
Maria said…
Thank you so much! I changed my zoom from 110+ on Chrome to 100+ and it stopped bouncing....so freaking annoying that Chrome has this issue - it's clearly something they need to work on....
Maggi said…
Genius!! I changed from 110% to 120% and no more vibrating. Thank you!!
Dr Faustus said…
The 110% setting was causing mine, too. Many thanks for the info.
DeniseG said…
I ran across this today while visiting an otherwise beautiful blog. The jittering on the side column completely ruined my visit, as it was visually upsetting and actually made me nauseous! I don't know why but it really bugged me! Thanks for the explanation. I can sleep tonight :)

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