I have now switched on the blog function on the main site. Every user has access to create their own personal blogs, and discuss topics through the blog comments. Please go ahead and use this function, try it out, and let me know what you think. In addition, the five most recent blog posts will appear on the front page of the site, below the five most recent forum posts, on the right of the page.

Thanks.

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https://www.cybershadow.ninja - A brief look into my twisted world, including wargames and beyond.
https://www.net-armageddon.org - The official NetEA (Epic Armageddon) site and resource.

I have a conventional blog (wargamingworkshop.wordpress.com). For ToEG I cross-posted content by request of TacComs readers (rather than just posting a link to the latest post). How do I achieve the same result going forward?

a) create a TacComs blog and then just cross-post entire ToEG posts from my blog into it? (if so, how are forum members alerted to new blog posts? do I then also post a forum topic with a link to the TC blog which in turn goes to my actual blog?)
b) just post links to my regular blog into a TC forum "announcement" post (if so, where does this announcement go? the ToEG folder?)
c) something else


How do comments work on these blogs? I get a lot of good suggestions out of the ToEG forum topic (in between my cross-posts). I suspect that there will be a lot less traffic and comments on the TC blogs because they will be isolated from the forum. Can I create a forum topic for comments on the blog (if so, how to crosslink)?

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My blog and armies: http://wargamingworkshop.wordpress.com

Honestly, it is entirely up to you. If you are happy with the way that your system works, then there is no reason to change it. The comments are seperate from these boards at this point, but do allow threaded discussion for each blog entry. Essentially, a blog post becomes the first post of a new thread, just in the blog section of the main site.

My suggestion for ToEG in particular - and it is only a suggestion - is that each member creates their own blog of their progress. This can be anywhere, and you can continue to use your current blog. People then add a link to their blog in their signature (increasing general visibility). We then simply have a single ToEG2011 thread which replaces the current ToEG board entirely. Progress is discussed in the blog, and a post is made in the thread when a blog post is published, with the link available in the sigs. You then have one place to post content (a blog) and a single thread which you can set up to let you know when there has been an update, with sig links right in each post.

However, I am open to suggestions, and if you guys want anything in particular for this, or want to run it a specific way, please do let me know.

As an aside, one of the goals of many of these changes is actually to make the front page of the site the first call for visitors. In the past, people have entirely ignored the front page and jsut come directly to the forums, and I cant blame them as there was no reason not to do this. However, very soon now the front page will allow you to log in right away from there, as well as publish the five most recent forum posts (already available), the five most recent blog posts (working on this right now), wargaming news with links and discussions and so on. The aim is to encourage people to bookmark the front page, and then navigate to the other sections, and so blogs should get exposure that way.

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https://www.cybershadow.ninja - A brief look into my twisted world, including wargames and beyond.
https://www.net-armageddon.org - The official NetEA (Epic Armageddon) site and resource.

right. I've got a bog post up now.

2 things. I commented and it disappeared for moderation. who moderates it?

also pictures don't display fully. it crops the right hand half of a photo.

You should be able to approve comments yourself. You should see an 'approve' link on the right under the comment. As for the picture, I can see this fine, I think. I can see the full glass, anyway.

EDIT: Let me know whether you can do this.

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https://www.cybershadow.ninja - A brief look into my twisted world, including wargames and beyond.
https://www.net-armageddon.org - The official NetEA (Epic Armageddon) site and resource.

Just a thought, does this risk fragmenting content a lot? If half of us move to using the blogs, half stay in forum threads etc, stuff could become more diffuse and harder to navigate, as opposed to more streamlined and easier to new users.

*edit, just seen this was touched on by Helge as well. Have to admit I never visit Helge's blog (no offence, when I looked the first time it was great) I just look at the forum thread the content is linked from. If his content was just in his blog and not linked here, it would totally disappear from my radar, likewise if it was just a thread here saying 'see my blog for an update' without the pictures etc cross posted, I would also become apathetic very fast. I realise this may just be terminal laziness on my part

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AFK with real life, still checking PMs

My personal plan is to use my blog for everything, WIP, random ideas, finished product, etc. I'll continue my paint log as a showcase for finished product only, similar to how Vaaish shows off his stuff.

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SG

Ghost's Paint Blog, where everything goes that isn't something else.

Regarding fragmenting issues, I dont think that it will. The capacity for people creating blogs online has always been there - hell, we did have it on the Wiki site as well. Its just that now people have one if they want it, included in their membership here. Like I said, I am certainly not going to dictate how you use the technology and tools, and what you do with them. A web site should adapt to meet the needs of its members, not the other way around.

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https://www.cybershadow.ninja - A brief look into my twisted world, including wargames and beyond.
https://www.net-armageddon.org - The official NetEA (Epic Armageddon) site and resource.

apologies if I'm being dense here.... but do I need to register on the blog site or should my regular forums account work? (because it says my username is invalid at the moment....)

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Just some guy

My hobby/painting threads

Army Forge List Co-ordinator

As a note, this error "Notice: date_default_timezone_set() [function.date-default-timezone-set]: Timezone ID '-14400' is invalid in drupal_session_initialize() (line 261 of /home/tactical/public_html/includes/session.inc)."

Hovers around all that I do on the site. Except the forums, that is.

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The Apocrypha of Skaros 1.1
Rogue Trader Expedition 0.4
The Horus Heresy 0.5
Night Lords 0.1
My Trade Thread

If you click 'add content' your own blog will be expanded, right?

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Light at the Horizon.

Warp Rift
Project Distant Darkness
Eldar MMS

GothiComp Hall of Fame
http://www.tacticalwargames.net/taccmd/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=19176

Go to "My Account" in the User Menu sidebar. Click "Edit". Scroll all the way to the bottom to "Locale Settings" and set your time zone, and it goes away.

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SG

Ghost's Paint Blog, where everything goes that isn't something else.

I am having the same trouble as kyussinchains. Is it necessary to register separately on the blog site?

OK fixed - used my email address as my user name and not my forum user name.

That fixed it, CS. Thanks.

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The Apocrypha of Skaros 1.1
Rogue Trader Expedition 0.4
The Horus Heresy 0.5
Night Lords 0.1
My Trade Thread