Using the Blog Features

Blog Posts

If you are logged into an account that has permission to create blog posts, visiting {bridge URL}/blog/post should yield a "New Blog Post" button. If you do not see this button, an administrator can grant you access by, for example, adding you to the "Writer" group.

• Post Title: This will be the headline that your readers see.
• Category: What category does this blog post belong to?
• Author: Select an Author to attribute this blog post to.
• Post Format: Blog posts can be written in: * Markdown * ReStructuredText * Rich Text * Raw HTML
• Cache: If you check this box, your blog post will be cached as a static page. This is useful for if a blog post goes viral on Slashdot, Hacker News, etc.
• Tags: Check all the tags that apply to this blog post.
• Description: This goes in the Meta tags and is previewed in the RSS feed for the blog.

The large textbox is where the contents of your blog post goes.

If you have permission to publish blog posts, you will be see the Publish button. Otherwise, you can only save a draft. Once a blog post is published, it will be live on the front page.

Categories

Categories are like folders on a computer. Folders can contain files or other folders. Categories are the same way.

Each category has a name and a parent category. When you write a blog post and assign it to a particular category, the blog section will diplay all posts in that category and any categories underneath it.

For example:

• Photography
• Science * Chemisty * Physics * Nuclear Physics
• Technology

If you write a blog post in the Physics category, it will be listed when a user browses for Science or Physics blog posts, but not Nuclear Physics.

Every blog post can belong to one category (or be uncategorized).

Creating Categories

If you are logged into an account that has permission to create categories, visiting {bridge URL}/blog/category should yield a "New Category" button.

Give your new category a name and optionally select another category to file it under.

In the box below, you can supply a preamble that shows up on the blog listing for that specific category. It's a good way to provide a bit of insight into what the reader can expect. Click "Preview" to quickly see what your changes look like.

After you click "Create New Category", you can return and edit them at any time.

Series

A series is a freeform alternative to categories that gives you more control over the structure of the collection. Series may contain other series or blog posts, but you get to dictate the order.

Additionally, there will be "previous" and "next" links at the bottom of each blog post. This makes series more ideal for structuring your content like a book or series of books.

For example:

• Book 1: The Chronicles of Exampletown * Preface: A blog post Act 1:* Welcome to Exampletown Chapter 1*: Foo at the Bar * Page 1: A blog post * Page 2: Another blog post Chapter 2*: Bar Baz * Page 3: Yet another blog post * Interlude Blog Post Chapter 3*: The Example Intensifies Act 2:* Et Cetera
• Book 2: The Demonstration
• A Short Essay about a Minor Character
• Book 3: The "I Reckon"ing

Unlike categories, which are universal, series are owned by a particular Author.

Creating a Series

If you are logged into an account that has permission to create series, visiting {bridge URL}/blog/series should yield a "New Series" button.

Give your series a name and select which Author you want to have ownership over the series.

Next, select the format you want to write the preamble in. When in doubt, Rich Text is the easiest. Next, write a preamble that will be displayed at the top of the series page. Feel free to customize the text for the link labels as well.

Finally, add any blog posts (or other series) from the same Author that you wish to include. You can change the order of the items in the series by dragging and dropping them in the "Series Contents" box.

When you are done, click "Create Series".

Tags

Blog posts can have any number of tags. They're exactly what most users expect from a tagging system.

Next: Account Settings