April 2006 Archives

Kim: Can little Ronnie come out and play?

Ron: Oh man! Oh man! This is SOOOO much better than s...

Kim: You better not say what I think you're going to say.

Monique: Kim, spill!

Kim: No, Monique. I'm not telling you if its boxers or briefs.

I wrote this a few months back. I'm working on updating it today and wanted to post it here for reference.

Ok, I'm totally new to blogging. How do I get started and what do I do.

You can find a pretty good introduction to blogging here. I politely suggest the What is Blogging?, the First Steps with WordPress, and the Jargon pages. It may seem like greek to you but you'll soon get the hang of it.

Where can I go for help if I need it?

The easiest place is right here in this forum. Just make a post in the Support Forum, describe your problem as best as you can, and hopefully someone will get back to you. You may also want to search for your issue as well as someone else has probably had the same question that you had in the past.

How do I search within this support forum?

You can find a search form here.

What's the difference between Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org

Wordpress.com or WP.com for short is a service that provides free hosting for people's blogs. After creating an account there, your blog is automatically created for you. Wordpress.org or WP.org for short is the support site for the Wordpress blogging software. You can download a copy of the software to use within your own webspace. You will also find FAQs, a support forum, lists of addons such as themes and plugins, and other information that you may need.

Can I include Adsense or other company adverts on my blog.

Short answer: no. AdSense, and other JAVA Script based scripts, are currently seen as a security issue. Also WP.com blogs are provided as a free service. This policy may change in the future.

How do I upload and include a picture within my post?

You can find a highly detailed list of instructions covering this here.

My RSS tags include a 'feed:' bit and my browser says that this is an "unregistered protocol" or another such error.

The "feed" tag is used by RSS readers and is usually not recognized by browsers that do not have a RSS reader installed. You can see the RSS feed if you manually type in your blog's feed URL into the URL bar of your browser. (ie: http://username.wordpress.com/feed/)

How do I add my favorite WordPress plug in or theme?

Currently no additions can be made to your blog as FTP access is not allowed. Suggestions can be made though via the Feedback form within your own Dashboard. (They make that suggestion here) New themes are usally added on Fridays.

Can I edit my template?

Currently no but this is planned to change in the future. Right now, the templates are shared between users on the server where your blog exists. If you require greater control over your template, the staff suggests using a paid host.

I've never received my activation mail.

Sometimes activation emails can be seen as spam by some hosts. Please double check your spam folder for this email. Also there is now a form on the home page to request your activation email to be resent.

Can a single blog have multiple authors and editors.

Yes. The method to do this is have each author create their own account here at WP.com and have the owner of the main blog add them onto his or her blog. They can do this here: Their own Dashboard -> Users -> Authors & Users.

I've found a WP.com blog that has questionable content. (ie: spam, child porn, links to warez, etc.) What do I do?

The easiest way to report such a blog is via the Feedback button within your own Dashboard. Include a link to the blog as well as the reason why you're reporting it. Please note that political content and comments are not considered to be questionable here.

How do I add a sitemeter to my blog?

The easiest method is by adding it as a link with a graphic. You can find instructions here for use with SiteMeter.

How much space do we have for pictures?

The limit is currently at 25 megs.

How long can my user name and password be?

Your password can have a max of twenty characters. It appears that your username has the same limit.

How can I do a backup of my blog?

The easiest method is by using your RSS feed. You can read a description of this method here.

How do I add Technorati tags to my WP.com blog?

Lorelle gives us an excellent method of doing this.

How do I use the object and embed tags with my posts?

These are stripped out of your html due to security issues. You can add Google and YouTube videos to your blogs though.

One of my spies pointed out to me that Timethief, one of the wonderful folks who help out on the wordpress.com support forums is celebrating her first year anniversary as a blogger today. She's also writen a series of guides on blogging basics for beginners, the use of widgets, and moving around a blog within the wordpress.com domain.

I just wanted to take a second and thank her for all of her hard work over there. She's been a big help.

Feel free to take a second and visit one of her blogs today. (I think I got them all.)

Kim: (Saying this through gritted teeth) Don't worry. It's just Ashley. All she wants is an autograph. She's not going to glomp you. Hopefully not this time. Hopefully she hasn't written another fic about me and Ron. (pause) Kim: Oh, who am I kidding... She runs off screaming down the hallway.

Shego: HEY! Don't you walk away from me, Drew! I'm talking to you! FINE! You're sleeping on the couch tonight! Drakken: *grumble* Shego: I heard that!

Kim: The big mean moderator scared me. SICK 'EM, ROACHIE! :)

Ron: WHOA! You mean you're really a girl? All this time, I never knew...

Ron: Date me or I'll have my girlfriend beat you up! Kim: Wait a minute...