So if I'm understanding this, I now have all my blog posts on one page(which now takes quite a while to load)

No, that's not correct. Only some posts load, and if you scroll to the bottom of the page, another set of 7 posts load. You might try giving infinite scroll a try, or consider checking with your audience to see if they like the feature. :)

I'm wondering If you buy the template and server space, do you have control over this sort of thing?

You don't need to buy anything at WordPress.com disable the infinite scroll feature. We did add a way to opt out of it, but we've found that only a small percentage of people actually did opt out and some those people turned it back on again later. WordPress.com themes don't use infinite scroll if footer widgets are present. So to turn it off, you can do what timethief mentioned and add a footer widget and then uncheck the "Scroll Infinitely" option on the Settings → Reader page in your blog dashboard.

So I googled the problem, and I guess I can add code to the template to make it what it was previously, that is, two posts on the home page.

If you would like to have full control of the WordPress code including the ability to add themes and plugins and modify any of the code, you can do that by setting up the downloadable WordPress.org software on your own web hosting account. It comes with extra responsibilities such as paying a monthly fee for a web hosting account and installing and maintaining the software on your own. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, you should switch to a WordPress.org steup. Here's some extra information about the differences: http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

Seems like a lot of run around. Do arbitrary changes happen like this a lot?

The change wasn't at all arbitrary, but yes sometimes changes happen as WordPress.com is forward moving and always updating.

Check out the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. Both are good but bring different options to the table, and you should pick the one that's right for you.

Cheers.

So I googled the problem, and I guess I can add code to the template to make it what it was previously, that is, two posts on the home page.

We caanot edit templates or themes on free hostde WordPress.com blogs. You best bet IMHO is to switch to using a theme with footer widgets. Then you can place an empty text widget in any footer area for widgets an option to disable infinite scroll will appear on this page > Settings > Reading. After you disable it click "save changes" and that will result in the display of the number of posts you select to display on that same Reading page.
http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/to-infinity/page/5?replies=137#post-817186

So I googled the problem, and I guess I can add code to the template to make it what it was previously, that is, two posts on the home page.

Seems like a lot of run around. Do arbitrary changes happen like this a lot? My google blogger sites do this sort of thing too, usually you can revert for a time or have and option,but not always. I guess that's just the way it is.

aaand, now back to CSS land. :)

In other words, don't start packing yet, but I would probably go ahead and get the boxes. You can always return the boxes if you don't need them.

I love blogging on WordPress, but I care about what my site looks like. I don't want every post I ever wrote showing up on the front page. There is a reason that I have an archive list - so people can look at older posts if they want to.

I really don't know if I should just jump ship and move my blog before they figure out how to get it working with footers and wait and see what happens.

+1000

Ultimately these choices end up being technical ones, choices that the average end user has no interest in. It's our duty as developers to make smart design decisions and avoid putting the weight of technical choices on our end users.

Do you think that infinite scrolling is a technical issue that the average end user has no interest in? It affects the entire homepage and how it is read. It is also a drastic change to what we had...

I love blogging on wordpress and you guys do great work. But this whole thing--the way this was implemented and some of the staff responses to the initial surge of negative feedback--has made me just a little disappointed.

For me personally, I don't care anymore.

I can find out more about the 7 number if you'd like?

Made decisions, not options.

is the new "black." Everyone has glommed onto that as if it is some sort of holy grail, and just like with every other polar thing, no one bothers to see all the stuff in between the two extremes.

The problem is, one size never fits all, and the way infinite scrolling is, and probably the way it will stay, is forcing pegs of all shapes into a square hole.

Those people that have image heavy posts and has set their site to only show 2 or 3 posts so their sites didn't load like a digital tree sloth will now have 7 coming up with each load. There is no way to change that and from one comment Matt made, 7 seems to be his designated magic number.

For photographers and artist that for their own reasons want to show only one post per page, they are now out of luck. You can have any number you want as long as it's 7.

This is a major change to the way things operate here, and major changes like this should not be forced onto people. There should be choice.

The only reason that themes with footer widgets can turn off infinite scrolling I suspect is that the devs couldn't figure out a way to bring back the footer widgets without disabling IS. If they had been able to figure out a way, then there would be no way to turn off infinite scrolling on themes with footer widgets.

Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black. -- Henry Ford

It's not a bullet!

The option was added because of the footer issue, but do keep in mind that not everyone uses widgets or footers or blogs even in the same way, and it's also not set in stone. So I wouldn't say mistake, I'd say an attempt to make a decision instead of an option. But then again, I'm the unendingly positive person in some ways (and particularly stubborn in others). I like our users here at WordPress.com, and I think it's actually a differentiating factor amongst blogging sites, and so I'd like it to play out positively in the end. I'm biased, I know. :)

So, as is always the case, it's a learning process. Hey, like I said, it's an interesting challenge to make decisions about such things. Too many options is not good, and it's not necessarily just about this one particular feature, but really, they all add up. Anyway, we'll continue to improve and work on it and balance innovation and work hard to make a truly excellent blogging experience.

I think you are making a mistake on this one, though. You already have the complexity of an option -- you have to, because of the footers question. So now, you've created the added complexity of removing that option in some cases. And you haven't done it right, because I just checked a non-cached view on another computer. :)

Here's a thought for you, though. Absolutely NO ONE who has footers wants infinite scrolling. NADA. You won't find anyone who has footers and has thought about it who wants it. Either they don't want footers, or they don't want scrolling. The two do not co-exist. It's actually silly to even give THEM the option.

Those of us who don't have footers are the ones who would benefit from the option. If you are going to give it to anyone, you should give it to us. And since I'm such a nice guy as to point out this flaw in the design decision you've made, I hope you'll leave the little bug that I've mentioned here intact until I get a solid answer on my question about impact on 3rd world load times. :)

Seriously, thanks for your help on this, and all the work you do.

If you're interested in the ideas behind that philosophy, check out http://wordpress.org/about/philosophy/ Neat stuff. :)

By the way, without any footers, the checkbox doesn't show up in my Reading settings anymore, but since I had turned it off earlier today, I'm still not on infinite scrolling. So I'm probably the only Twenty Ten blog in existence with no footer and no infinite scrolling. Makes me feel important.

As a programmer myself, I hate hidden fields with hidden data -- that's one of the risks of arbitrarily hiding a checkbox. Is there a reason to hide it? Seems kind of silly to me....

For the other thread, I saw that and I'm working on researching it as I wanted to make sure to post a correct answer. My sentiment is the same as yours (based on what I know), which is to say that I dont' think infinite scroll adds too much overhead for someone reading through posts because, after you start scrolling, new posts are only loaded when you get to the bottom of the list. I'll check up on it and I'll let ya know what I find out.

And if so, could you please comment on the technical aspect of my question in http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/trying-to-decide-on-infinite-scroll?replies=4#post-817898? Specifically, the part about load times for third-world readers.