We Want You to Blog Here

Mini-blog anyone?

An idea came up among the editorial team - who are busily working on the draft of a charter and constitution - that a site that wants to promote depth of thought and a degree of specialisation in some areas, should give posters the opportunity to have a thread of their own.

This would mean the following:
*A thread for you to blog on.
*No one else can post on your thread - so each post is a new entry.
*Using the editing facility you can add and subtract from previous posts.
*If your interest falls within a forum, then posters can open a thread for general discussion of something that comes up in your 'blog'.
*If your interest doesn't fall within a specific forum, you can post your 'blog' within a 'blog forum' and discussion can take place in whatever relevant forum suits.
*You get a chance to develop ideas - to look under your own bonnet, so to speak, and build on what is important to you.
*Other posters get the benefit of more indepth knowledge and/or thought and/or analysis.
*Your thread can be moderated but it is hoped that each poster will be able to self-mod as far as possible. We want posters to have the freedom to get on with their own thing without interference.

Everyone is welcome to avail of this facility. Please do.

We want to get to know you - and what makes you tick - a little better.

If you have any ideas on this, please post them on this thread.

If you want to start a thread, contact an Administrator - Auditor and EVM have the skills to set you up.


The editorial team is currently made up of five people who have fairly organically found our way into that position.

At the moment, Auditor and EVM (without whom none of us would be here), cactus flower, ibis and I are working on a charter and constition based on feedback we've received on other threads here. Please keep posting your ideas and suggestions.

This team may change, expand and develop over time and our aim is to support and encourage - not to mod the living daylights out of posters.

Auditor #9 wrote:

So ibis and evm (who's under the bonnet at present as it happens) do ye have any thoughts on this business of a substance for the site? As you are currently removing useful equipment (the calendar) from the territory in preparation for something else I'd also ask ye about the New Jerusalem we're going to build here and what good stuff (content) do ye have in mind and any opinions on if any?

I've been contemplating that since cactus flower originally asked it...I'm not sure there's anything in my usual skillset that's of relevance on a discussion forum. However, I admit I have contemplated blogging, but have no idea whether I would necessarily keep at it after the first few posts.

If I did, there are two specific areas that would interest me (at the moment) - the EU, and "science and the citizen".

Would the miniblog suggested above hold any attraction for you, ibis?

Kate P wrote:

Would the miniblog suggested above hold any attraction for you, ibis?

Not sure - originally my thought was to post blog posts as the starting points of threads...a little arrogant, but I'd soon have that knocked out of me when nobody posted on them.

ibis wrote:

Auditor #9 wrote:

So ibis and evm (who's under the bonnet at present as it happens) do ye have any thoughts on this business of a substance for the site? As you are currently removing useful equipment (the calendar) from the territory in preparation for something else I'd also ask ye about the New Jerusalem we're going to build here and what good stuff (content) do ye have in mind and any opinions on if any?

I've been contemplating that since cactus flower originally asked it...I'm not sure there's anything in my usual skillset that's of relevance on a discussion forum. However, I admit I have contemplated blogging, but have no idea whether I would necessarily keep at it after the first few posts.

If I did, there are two specific areas that would interest me (at the moment) - the EU, and "science and the citizen".

One way to approach this might be to give it a whirl as a "guest blog" for a week say, and start out with a list of four or five things one would like to write about in the back of one's mind. Then, if there was more to say after the week, keep going.

I kind of like the idea in any event of the site having a "guest blog of the week", that would give that person the chance of a good audience for that week, even if they were too busy to commit to a "permanent" blog. Some guests would then go on to become long term bloggers on the site, if they wanted to stay at it. Guest bloggers could be people we know already on line or people who from "outside" who we would like to hear from.

Perhaps anyone interested might pm Kate P or Audi or you or EvoM or me?

Riadach is a mine of fascinating information about early Irish history and the language that would make a terrific blog in English.

There's also scope for a blog as Gaeilge - and the rest of us could slaver over the great blas he has on the language.

Shouldn't there be some facility for response to a blog linked to the blog, or is the relevant forum only linked by a url? It's a great idea incidentally...

WorldbyStorm wrote:

Shouldn't there be some facility for response to a blog linked to the blog, or is the relevant forum only linked by a url? It's a great idea incidentally...

I put up a forum this morning called "Bloggers and the Blogg.." inside of which are several sub-fora, provisionally 5. How these should operate is anyone's guess. Put down good ideas and you get your name in the credits, Worldbystorm. Any ideas on how you could see it operating? It's a tabula rasa at present now while Kate and cactus are out pruning trees and making jam... (i have the keys to all the button-pushing panels btw) Now is you time to put a stamp on it...

We're anarchists here, btw - and there is very little private property

WorldbyStorm wrote:

Shouldn't there be some facility for response to a blog linked to the blog, or is the relevant forum only linked by a url? It's a great idea incidentally...

I'm not at all technical, and like simplicity, but would it not be possible to have two parallel threads, one the blog and the other the "comments" thread, and commentators just leave a link to their comment on the blog thread? Or is that too Heath Robinson altogether?



Are you a prospective blogger, WorldbyStorm? Would like to read that.

It's tricky because people generally like to comment directly under or beside the thread. But I guess what you propose would be a solution.

WorldbyStorm wrote:

It's tricky because people generally like to comment directly under or beside the thread. But I guess what you propose would be a solution.

There may well be some more sophisticated means of achieving this than the one I illustrated above. Perhaps some form of split screen? There are some members with technical know how who may be able to crack this. However the main thing is the content: once that is interesting and expresses an individual world view, we will overcome any technical constraints as we go along.

Ouch, a split screen. Sounds complex. But if it could be done it would be great...

Re content. Well, as they say, 'if you build it, they will come...'

The idea was to have a place to gather posts (probably longer ones) by individual posters in one spot - like a regular blog where the comments are hidden behind a link - is that doable, I wonder?

So if we had a history buff, there'd be series of history posts, uninterrupted, in the style and reflecting the personality of the poster.

It would be a kind of sacred space within all the discussion threads.

It was my suggestion that posters who saw a post as an inspiration to start a thread could do so. That could lead to multiple discussion threads but one sacred thread which allows the philosophy etc of an individual poster to develop.

Otherwise, the 'blog' is not much different to what I call a 'patslatt' thread - long OP and on we go...

Yep, it's a good idea and would build up content.

seperate comments doesn't sound like it will work, i think you might have to have to give each users a forum, and then each thread is an entry people can comment on, as you've done, but part of blogging is being able to push out your post, to other places like irishblogs.ie in order to attract people to the site with the content, and whats a blog if it doesn't come up in blogging searches. you probably can't do that with a forum format. isee you can add feed with phpbb

how about something like a forum you can blog on,
http://tooum.com/

or scoop.com which http://www.dailykos.com runs on
http://scoop.kuro5hin.org/section/code

both appear to be free


i don't see anything on forumakers that will help you carve out a useful way to do this.

looking at phpbb ....

http://www.phpbb.com/shop/ bizarre coincidence. i've found our logo! to rival polly parrot

anyway theres this
http://www.lithiumstudios.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=433 user mod blog eg
http://lithiumstudios.org/blog/

this WP-United: WordPress Integration (v0.6.0 01/12/07)
http://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=544065&p=5067155&hilit=blog#p5067155

dunno if ou can use these how difficult they are but might be easier in the end.

lostexpectation wrote:

seperate comments doesn't sound like it will work, i think you might have to have to give each users a forum, and then each thread is an entry people can comment on, as you've done, but part of blogging is being able to push out your post, to other places like irishblogs.ie in order to attract people to the site with the content, and whats a blog if it doesn't come up in blogging searches. you probably can't do that with a forum format.

how about something like a forum you can blog on,
http://tooum.com/

or scoop.com which dailykos runs on
http://scoop.kuro5hin.org/section/code
both appear to be free


i don't see anything on forumakers that will help you carve out a useful way to do this.

Wow!

That's true, lostexpectation. The initial intention here is to give posters a chance to dig a little deeper while they're here, to give a little more content and to be more than just the average 'short-post' destination.

It would benefit the poster and all the readers who get to know him better. Indeed, it could function as a pre-blog for someone ambitious but nervous.

Are you interested in launching a blog?

Just looked at those links.

Wow is right!

'Audi, where are you?'

lostexpectation wrote:

seperate comments doesn't sound like it will work, i think you might have to have to give each users a forum, and then each thread is an entry people can comment on, as you've done, but part of blogging is being able to push out your post, to other places like irishblogs.ie in order to attract people to the site with the content, and whats a blog if it doesn't come up in blogging searches. you probably can't do that with a forum format. isee you can add feed with phpbb

how about something like a forum you can blog on,
http://tooum.com/

Switchboard is the result of what happens when your Blog and your Forum get together and have a baby with an IQ of 400!



You've done trojan work there on that thread lost and thanks - we're not exactly sure about the compatibility of this site yet as we're not sure about installing software (ftping to the site) but it seems there is tons of stuff out there if we could and this thread will certainly be a reference for it

Kate P wrote:

Riadach is a mine of fascinating information about early Irish history and the language that would make a terrific blog in English.

There's also scope for a blog as Gaeilge - and the rest of us could slaver over the great blas he has on the language.

changing the whole system is one thing but

if you go to

http://www.phpbb.com/mods/db/

you can search for mods, i think somewhere it says how long they may take to implement

search for rss get you 3 options searching for blog doesn't get you anything, so no blog mods :/

but oh yeah i found this yesterday
this WP-United: WordPress Integration (v0.6.0 01/12/07)
http://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=544065&p=5067155&hilit=blog#p5067155

Kate P wrote:

Are you interested in launching a blog?

I am, I feel that a lot of discussion I've engaged in could be centralised in one catch-all location. I also visit lots of other blogs and can bring their fascinating links to the Machine Nation's attention. It would be a good blog.

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

Kate P wrote:

Are you interested in launching a blog?

I am, I feel that a lot of discussion I've engaged in could be centralised in one catch-all location. I also visit lots of other blogs and can bring their fascinating links to the Machine Nation's attention. It would be a good blog.

I feel that with Riadach As Gaeilge, the Ard-Taoiseach, youngdan and Kate P as bloggers, the Machine Nation may hold its head high in the blogosphere.

of course they won't be in the sphere until the ya make it so they can blog on this site.