Rules
HelpEveryone needs help now and again and whether you're here as a seasoned 'agenda blurfer looking for some tips or forgotten a smiley, or a 'agenda newbie, you have come to the right place. If you just happened to come to this page and decided to read it because it's here, then you seriously need to see a doctor about your 'agenda addition.
Commenting
Right, down to business... The 'agenda is here for debate and public discussion and to take part you need to comment, so how do you comment. Well press a 'comment', 'inform', or 'guess' button and you should see (if all goes well) a dialog window pop up. The dialog should look something like this (see below), but the design might be different because sometimes I just feel like a change of design.
At the Name textbox enter your name (du'h). If you are a saint and you don't want to talk about your 'charity work' or conversely you're a rogue and you want to keep a low profile (or any other reason) leave a handle (nickname). If you can't think of a handle, after a few anonymous comments a handle will be assigned to you (part of the service at no extra cost!). I accept anonymous postings on the 'agenda, so if you want to be anonymous leave this textbox blank.
The next textbox is the Email textbox. First thing to remember here is that anything entered in this textbox is between you and me (Tavis Pitt). I don't sell or reveal email addresses to anyone. If you are a recluse then fine leave this blank but this gives me a tally between the IP address and the email address which is an extra layer of validation, and also it automatically appends your gravatar (I'll cover that later). If you are particular about leaving your email address just leave an agreed phrase that if continuously repeated will act as a signature. Remember only I can see the email (or phrase), nobody else can see it. The downside of leaving a phrase is that you cannot take advantage of the 'email notification' service and the gravatar.
If you are a blogger (have a weblog) or you're a webber (have a website) then promote it, put the address in the URL textbox. I'll take care of the rest. If you don't then you probably don't understand the concept of social networking. Think about it the 'agenda gets between 50 and 60 visitors a day, a comment here or there should send some traffic to your weblog/site. If you have no weblog, then I recommend you get one, not just to fill in this textbox, but to feel the freedom and invigoration of blogging! Go to Blogspot or Wordpress for starters.
The little icon [
] is for uploading your own photos/images (we will cover that later).
So at the comment textbox (actually an textarea but we not all computer geeks) enter your comment. Go on type what's on your mind, or if you have been provoked. Write a phase, sentence or entire dissertation. I think the word limit is something like 2,000 words. If you want to write more, then it's probably best to email it to me at tavis.pitt@wfa.org.uk. Don't worry about spelling and grammar; I'll deal with that for you. Also if you want to add a hyperlink just type the address, no need for that <a> </a> malarkey. In the comment you can add smileys and instructions (we will cover these later).
I have never worked out the automatic email notification system, but I met Don Barton once and he said he used it. I guess you tick the checkbox where it says 'Notify me of followup comments via email' and it then notifies you of followup comments via the email you entered in the Email textbox. If you left the Email textbox blank or added a phase then I guess you ain't going to get a notification!
I'll set you a wager: When you have typed your comment, press the Preview button to see how your comment will appear and I bet you you'll find a grammar or spelling error or a complete sentence that doesn't make any sense. Don't worry it happens to me all the time!
When you are ready to participate in the 'agenda and enter the hall of famous 'agenda blurfers then press the Publish button. It will be published to Haloscan (commenting software) and I will pick it up. Then I transfer the comment straight on to the 'agenda _ yes unlike all other weblogs in the world you are welcomed into the family and actually become part of it! I'll spell-check, grammar-check, link check, and integrate images for you, just sit back and enjoy your contribution.
Comments:
 Statesman 6 June 2008 |
Some of the comments are not appearing in the "walk in the country" page? - however they are in the all comments list. I have tried various things to get them to appear Tav, but to no avail. |
 Tav 6 June 2008  The Wyre Forest Agenda
|
I'm not exactly sure of the issue here. I used Haloscan commenting software to collect comments, and I manually publish them on the 'agenda. So there could be four issues: (1) Your browser and/or browser add-on is blocking pop-up windows. If this is the case set it up to allow pop-ups on the 'agenda (wfa.org.uk) and also for good measure Haloscan (haloscan.com). You have my word these are reputable sites with absolutely no malware. If you are unsure how to do this, follow this hyperlink: http://www.haloscan.com/comments/tav/200806011/ (2) I have made a syntax error on the 'agenda. The 'agenda is quality hand-crafted, non of that factory tat  . However, I can have an off-day and type something incorrectly that screws up the commenting. I have tested the 'Walk in the country' page and it seems OK with my browser _ but that doesn't really mean much. I'll check it again and re-check it. If someone else other than Statesman is reading this can they just add a comment, even if it just says 'test' (I'll delete it after).(3) Something has gone down with Haloscan. If this is the case give it a moment and it should come back working again (they are very good and I highly recommend them). (4) You could have spend so long writing a comment that you overspent your cache. Don't worry if you don't understand that just try this method: Use a word processor like Microsoft Word, type your comment (spell check and grammar check if you like) then press the comment button on the 'agenda and cut and paste from the word processor to the comment textbox. |
Smileys
It's very hard to express satire, sarcasm and tone in text, you stupid dimwit. See! So to aid the blurfer with this disability you can use smileys. Smileys are just little icons that represent a mood or tone of expression. I could list all the smileys in the world and label each one with a specific mood, but I couldn't be arsed and it will get confusing (and boring). So just use :-) and :-( and you'll be understood perfectly, featherhead . See!
To add a smiley while commenting just type in the code. For example for a smiley face (expressing humour, wit, etc.) type colon (:) then hyphen (-) then close bracket ()). The commenting software or me will recode it with a smiley. Here are a few common ones:
| :) or :-) is displayed as |
;) or ;-) is displayed as  |
:( or :-( is displayed as  |
:P or :-P or :p or :-p is displayed as  |
}:( or }:-( is displayed as  |
:lol: is displayed as  |
:o( is displayed as  |
8) or 8-) is displayed as  |
:+: is displayed as  |
:-: is displayed as  |
Formatted Text
While I have mentioned 'text' I just want to point out, I hate 'text-speak' and I will adjust it once, the next time I will delete your comment! Oh, I don't like the use of capital letters for emphasis, and I will usually adjust this when publishing to the 'agenda. However, don't worry because you can italicise and bold text...
As for normal readable (human) text you do have three little hacks bold text, italics and hyperlinks:
<b>bold</b> is displayed as bold
<i>italic</i> is displayed as italic
<b><i>bold and italic</i></b> is displayed as bold and italic
Hyperlinks are those things you click to get to another page. Since you are sitting at a computer reading this I guess you already knew that.
<a href="http://flipc.blogspot.com/">The Mad Ranter</a> is displayed as The Mad Ranter, or
http://flipc.blogspot.com/ is displayed as http://flipc.blogspot.com/
Don't forget to put in the 'http://' bit, however, don't worry if you forget, I'll do it for you.
Photos, Pictures and Images
You can add photos and images to the 'agenda and I love it. You will get serious kudos if you take photos around Wyre Forest and post them to the 'agenda. It makes great blurfing.
OK, brace yourself this is a bit tricky... Next to the 'Comment' label on the comment dialog is a little icon [] for uploading your own photos/images. Click on this icon and another dialog will appear, similar to this...
If you have used this facility before (and I guess you haven't reading this) then there will be a thumbnail of your last uploaded photo under the label 'Your Recent Uploads'. However never mind that you need to concentrate. Under the label 'Click "Browse" to select an image file to upload' I want you to click the Browse... button to select an image file to upload - d'uh. You will be given the option to select an image. Select it in the usual manner (the same way you do when using your computer).
A URL will be displayed in the textbox next to the Browse... button. Translation: gobbledegook will be in the textbox next to the Browse... button. Just ignore that. Instead press the Upload Image button. You will see something like this...
Your uploaded photo is displayed with a textbox above. OK now it gets more complicated. You remember I asked you to ignore some gobbledegook before? Well now you need to remember the gobbledegook in this textbox. Sit there are at least 10 minutes reading and re-reading the URL (gobbledegook) in the textbox and memorise it in your head _ don't write it down! Is that too difficult? An easier way is to highlight it and copy it press Ctrl C.
We have finished with this dialog so close it (press the X button in the top-right corner).
Go back to the comment dialog, if you haven't already closed that, and paste the URL (gobbledegook) into the comment textarea, like so:
There done, repeat the process for more photos/images. I will pick up the photos from here and publish them with your blog/comment. I may have to adjust them (tilt or resize) but I will always put a caption with your name in square brackets as the owner.
If it's all too overwhelming, just email me the photos at tavis.pitt@wfa.org.uk. I know, why didn't I just say that in the first place .
Gravatars
A Gravatar is a globally recognised avatar, or that little picture next to comments. Whether you want one or not, everyone on the 'agenda gets one :-)! They allow you to spot a favourite blurfer quickly and easily. Yes, they are also gimmicky and fun, but they help break up the monotony of paragraphs of text.
So how do you get one?
Like most things in life there is an easy way and a hard way. Also like most things in life, the hard way is better, so let's explain that first. The commenting software that I use on the 'agenda, called Haloscan, is Gravatar enabled. This means if you assign your own Gravatar at the Gravatar website [http://en.gravatar.com/], it should automatically be picked up every time you contribute to the 'agenda. In fact, it will appear in other weblogs around the world (they didn't say it was 'globally recognised' for nothing!). So what are you waiting for, go to the Gravatar website and create your Gravatar, it's free and all you need is an email address.
The easy way, is just to not bother. Every new blurfer to the 'agenda is welcomed with a unique Gravatar. I do all the work for you. First I will visit your website or weblog and create a Gravatar from that. If you haven't got a website or weblog I usually try to find a photo of you on the Internet (if I think I know who you are). If that isn't possible I do a Google search on your name or handle, then pick the first neutral image from the list. For anonymous comments I usually go to the website relating to the IP address of the blurfer and create an image from that.
Hey, some Gravatars are not to everyone's taste, so if you want me to change it just ask, upload a new image, email me the image, or go to the Gravatar website and do it yourself.
There are occasions where an unsigned or anonymous comment comes through that has the same IP address as a previous unsigned or anonymous comment. I generally assign the same Gravatar (if I can remember _ the 'agenda is hand-made!), but I may think I know who it is so I will signify this by rotating a Gravatar or blacking out the face of a portrait Gravatar. Let me find some examples, here you go...