Let's Talk About the Blogs

[OckhamsFolly]

So, I've been playing around with the blog feature for use as a character journal, and I had a few suggestions I'd like to make for future consideration.

1. Add "Next/Previous Entry" links at the bottom of entries.

As I said, I plan on using the feature for a character journal, as suggested in the pop up on blogs. Unfortunately, the blog does not offer a fluid reading experience. If you wish to go from one entry to the next, you must return to the entry list an choose the next one. I would suggest perhaps a separate bar below the entry itself, double lined; the top line would have first/previous/next/last within a category, and the bottom would have the same but would not filter by category. This would make it easier and more pleasurable to read multiple entries.

2. Let us determine how the blog displays our entries.

This ties in to the above. I am sure that the blogs are used for a variety of purposes, and for many, if not most, it makes sense to have the latest entries displayed first. However, like I said, the blog is suggested by the site as the right place for a character journal, and a latest-entry-first layout is counter-intuitive to a new reader to a character journal; while if there's a will, it's not a huge deal, it is an unnecessary inconvenience that will make it less likely for someone with a casual interest to become engrossed. If implemented

3. Allow a global flag for character journal/articles/personal blog/etc.

The current blog homepage sort of throws everything at you. It would be nice if, in addition to our manually created categories, we could also add a predetermined flag for the entry type that would be reflected on the homepage. This way, you could have the current homepage, along with several filters that let you browse all users posts by what kind they are. This would make it easier to find new blogs of the kind you are interested in without having to sift through everything you aren't.

It may be that ways already exist to implement these features; just today, I realized I could customize the blog, which solved two of the other difficulties I had. I would welcome any advice on ways I could set up the blog to achieve the desired result, and I do want to make clear that the blog is pretty good for a free offering; there are simply a few points that I think could make a big difference to a specific kind of blog and make it a more attractive option for users.

Thank you for reading!

 

[Rayven]

We have been considering how to address the blog section. There are ways to customize it, but I'd have to go back into it again to be able to write something coherent about how to go about it.

The other option we discussed was migrating the current blog content into a subforum instead. We are not sure if there is any ability to migrate the blog entries to forum post format so that the users who have utilized the blogs to this point wouldn't have to redo their content or cut and paste it all into posts. I'm not fond of either of those options because they seem like a hassle to the members who have put tons of work into their blogs.

The blog system we have now is a paid add-on so we ourselves aren't the ones who coded it. We can also check to see if there are alternative blog systems that would work better with the purpose it serves on these forums.

 

[OckhamsFolly]

We have been considering how to address the blog section. There are ways to customize it, but I'd have to go back into it again to be able to write something coherent about how to go about it.

The other option we discussed was migrating the current blog content into a subforum instead. We are not sure if there is any ability to migrate the blog entries to forum post format so that the users who have utilized the blogs to this point wouldn't have to redo their content or cut and paste it all into posts. I'm not fond of either of those options because they seem like a hassle to the members who have put tons of work into their blogs.

The blog system we have now is a paid add-on so we ourselves aren't the ones who coded it. We can also check to see if there are alternative blog systems that would work better with the purpose it serves on these forums.

Thanks for the response.

It makes sense that it's an add-on, and I can see how it would be nearly impossible for you to implement the changes I suggested above in that case.

Concerning a sub forum, I'm not sure if it's necessary for anything other than character journals. The current set up is good for traditional blogs, just not journals. Is that what it is mostly used for? It would still be a lot of work to import blogs into threads though, especially if it had to be done manually, and what would you do with comments on blog entries?

I'll have to pay attention and see if there's a "powered by" logo somewhere. Maybe I can do some independent research on how to use it more effectively.

 

[Rayven]

Well the initial purpose of the blogs was to use them as a running journal entry (as they are typically used) but to have it be in-character instead of about you, the typist.

 

[OckhamsFolly]

Well the initial purpose of the blogs was to use them as a running journal entry (as they are typically used) but to have it be in-character instead of about you, the typist.

Ah. Then, yes, the navigational layout is not really the best for that. It would seem to be a shame to have spent money on it for expressly that purpose only to end up changing it to a subforum.

 

[Rayven]

Well, in the end, we'll figure out what's best for the membership. We might have lost a bit of money trying the add-on, but I'd rather lose a small bit of money than frustrate a bunch of members.

 

[OckhamsFolly]

I feel like an idiot. Today, when I put up a new entry, I saw the obvious way to get around the next/last entry problem... make the links myself. I have the urls for the other entries, and I have the ability to add hyperlinks. It's not that much work to add a next and last link myself. I started to do first and most recent one as well, but I didn't want to have to update the most recent on every page... though I could just have it go to the home page, as the top one will always be the most recent entry... you wouldn't even have to change the first and last entries, as when you copy paste it from the last page it saves the links.

So stupid for not realizing this earlier. Maybe just a "So, you're a moron? Here's how to use the blog!" page will suffice. Perhaps with some templates.

Edit: Yeah, went ahead and added the first and last. Looks pretty good. That was pretty much the biggest problem I had with the blog. Can't believe I missed such a simple solution.

If anyone wants to copy the template, feel free:

<< First Page ~ < Previous Page ~ Next Page > ~ Last Page >>​

​

You do have to manually center it, and I suggest changing the color of the tilde if dark red is inappropriate. Also, I recommend adding a carriage return so the "Last Page" isn't crowding up on any category tags if you use them. I'm not sure why, but it seemed to ignore the carriage when I had it left aligned, but I tried again after centering it and it worked fine.

This obviates my first two suggestions (as it actually uses the most recent post first to obtain a static link for the Last Page link). I still think the last suggestion would be really nice and neaten things up a bit if possible, but if it's mainly used for character stories then it wouldn't really matter.