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Obsolete JREF Blogs

thomas

Unswerving cyclist
Admin
14 Mar 2002
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Dear members,

we are currently testing vB's latest (and actually first official) add-on to the forum, their new blog system. Each member can easily create their own blog entries (one blog per user).

More info from vB:

About vBulletin Blog
vBulletin Blog is a fully featured blogging add-on that enables community members to create their very own online blogs within vBulletin. Giving members a place to post thoughts, ideas and musings will keep users returning to the community again and again, and advanced administration features allow forum owners and moderators to keep control and integrate Blog into vBulletin's existing look and feel.

Fast Start
vBulletin Blog makes it simple for community members to create their own space within the community. Getting started is as simple as posting the first message (using the same familiar vBulletin editor). There is no lengthy setup process - blog owners are free to personalise their blog at any time by defining a title and a description that will appear at the top of every blog post.

Fully-Featured
It is a feature-rich blog application, with support for fully formatted WYSIWYG posts, attachments, comments, trackbacks and pingbacks, draft posts and categories, as well as seamless integration with the overall vBulletin system.

Blog Home Page
Available via a single click from any vBulletin page, the blog home page aggregates activity from all member blogs into a single page – with information about the most recent and highest rated blog posts, recent comments, a featured blog post (selected by the administrator or at random), full support for browsing posts by date and overall blogging statistics.

Syndication and Subscriptions
Site wide and per-blog RSS feeds allow syndication to external readers, and full support for vBulletin subscriptions enables users to join their favorite blogs and receive regular email updates.

Blog Control Panel
The Blog Control Panel empowers members to control every aspect of their blogs, from permission controls (who has access to view and comment on the blog), to full management of blog categories, draft posts, trackbacks/pingbacks and subscriptions. Blog owners also have the ability to moderate comments on their own blog.

Terminology:

Blog – this is a personal page that a user can post entries too, you can find a definition on wikipedia here.

Entry – an entry is a post made to the blog of a user.

Categories – a category is used to allow the organisation of blog entries.

Draft – while creating an entry a user has the option to save it as a draft and post it at a later date.

Trackback / Pingback – trackback and pingback are methods for letting a web author know that you've linked to their document, it is common for blog entries to be interlinked across different sites.

It is still pretty simple, but we expect more features in the future. We are looking forward to your feedback.
🙂
 
You can check out the blogs either by clicking on the "Blogs" link near the top of the page between "Chat" and "FAQ", or by clicking
here
 
So far we have no blog categories. Please let me know which categories you would like to have implemented.
 
A blog sounds interesting, but how would it be different from making a thread or answering a post in the regular forum?
 
A blog sounds interesting, but how would it be different from making a thread or answering a post in the regular forum?

This a good and much-discussed question. I believe that they are different. While a forum post is aimed at a public discussion, a blog entry tends to reflect the poster's personal views and opinions and is not primarily aimed at the debate. Perhaps it boils down to public discourse vs personal statement.

Anyhow, here are a few answers, better than whatever I could offer in reply:

I was asked, "How is a blog different from a discussion forum or message board?" My thoughts:

Very different -- and I think it's pretty plain to anyone who's read both blogs and message boards. (This individual admitted to having never read a blog before.) Message boards (even if they are limited access or members-only) allow anyone to post a new thread or ask a question in a subject area. Other people can then add to the threads. A forum lacks an individual personality (though individual posters may become well-known on a board for their characters) and encourages specificity of topics (as opposed to a conversation).

A blog takes on a specific personality over time -- the nature of the author(s) (real or assumed). There's more of a sense of a conversation (including the quirky subject changes and mind-leaps that take place in conversation), whether there are comments or not. And yes, there's more control in a blog than in a message forum -- the blog author(s) steers the discussion by choosing his topics and writing his posts.

There's a place for forums (though I've personally never cared for them and have opted not to make one available on our organization's website). There's a place for blogs—two different animals.

Source

Blog vs forum: What's the difference?

Forums vs Blogs
 
Interesting answer. Maybe I'll give it a go and see where it ends up. Thanks for yr reply.
 
Oh, since users have their own blog control panel (BCP), they have to set up blog categories by themselves.
😊
 
Why is the blog limited to 10,000 characters? I made a post only to be told it it was twice that and that I had to shorten it! That would completely take away from the users blog entry. It would seem pointless to make a part 1 and part 2 or even a part 3 as it would diminish what the writer wanted to say.

Other blog sites don't limit the number of characters. What is the point of having a blog if one cannot completely write out what one has to say? If it is just for short entries then it should be stated so before one wastes an hour or more making an entry.

In your reply above regarding blogs vs. forums it should've been noted that the forums are unrestricted while the blog is restricted.

Anyway, it is still a good idea and a good addition to Jref. Maybe it should be called a "mini-blog".

Also how does one get an avatar into one's blog?
 
Thanks for your feedback. Please note that we are still in a TESTING phase! Therefore, we are - of course - open to any suggestions and criticism.
🙂

I have increased the maximum number of characters for each blog entry to 50.000. Let me know if that's still insufficient. Anyhow, thanks again!

Avatars are automatically displayed when set in your UCP.
 
Neat idea, this. How about a way to add reputation directly from users' blog entries? After all, some folks (I hope) will have comments and insights worthy of reputation, eh?
 
Not a bad idea! It might encourage more people to start up a blog if they know they can get rep from it! 👍

(Of course, I'm just a grunt; I don't get to make executive decisions like that! 😌)
 
since im a bit unhandy with this can somebody say me how i have to make a new one? because what i just did was editing my original blog 😌 and thats not what i exactly requested (>.<) can somebody help me with this problem?
 
How to Make a New Blog Entry

  1. Go to the main blog page, which can be done by clicking here.
  2. Find this box on the left of the screen. (Colours may vary.)
    blog1-2.jpg
  3. Click on "Post to my Blog".
  4. Write your new blog entry.
  5. Click on the "Post Now" button below the text entry box.
 
How to Access the Blog Control Panel
  1. Go to the main blog page, which can be done by clicking here.
  2. Find this box on the left of the screen. (Colours may vary)
    blog1-2.jpg
  3. Click on "Blog Control Panel"
 
How to Change Privacy Settings on Your Blog

  1. Access your Blog Control Panel.
  2. Scroll down until you see the following:
    blog1-1.jpg
  3. Set privacy levels as you wish.
  4. Click the "Save Changes" button.
To see who is on your Buddy or Ignore lists (also to add and remove people to your lists), please click here.
 
owh a last request, i think we should have the oppurtunity to delete bad blog, for example i've made a blog entry and i want to delete it can someone help me?
 
Off the top of my head here, but I am pretty sure a staff member can do something like that for you. You'd have to clearly let us know which one you'd like deleted, and believe it can be...or can be moved. Let me check about that once, first though...I'm just talking off the top of my head, here. MM


ps...on second thought, can't you do that yourself?
 
yes its deleted now, i've just seen it! Sorry to bother and thanks for the aid!

(ps i allready deleted it a long time ago but i wanted to know if we can do that in the future)
 
OK, I recently deleted a blog as it should have been a draft. Now that it's ready for publishing I cannot get it posted to the deleted entry where I was allowed to edit it, but the deleted entry is there for all to see. Why is that? Once an entry is deleted shouldn't it be deleted completely and no one be the wiser? Do I need to re-publish it as a new entry? If so, please delete my deleted blog entry AFTER I publish this one.
 
I'm just not sure. I went and did the routine, but you'll have to tell me if you can still see it, because I can see a frame for all deleted posts of a certain nature, and it may be the same for the blogs too. I just don't know. Sorry, if I wasn't of any help. MM
 
It still shows up as being deleted by you. In effect it is the same as before except that it now says you deleted it at my request. Why does it even show up is my question. A deleted entry should be completely deleted. A minor point I know, but it just doesn't look neat if you get what I am saying. BTW thanks for your help.
 
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