From: Darwin, NT, Australia Insane since: Dec 2003
posted 01-30-2007 21:46
Any mad, or dedicated, bloggers lurking in the corridors
I'm thinking of starting a blog using one of the many pre-setup systems available, but there's so many, and so much comment re "this is the best", "that's b/s", "no it's not" ..... that I'm even more confused than usual.
"Appears" like with some ya get more for free than ya get from paying with others, which starts alarm bells!
Then there's the problem of comment spam; there's various comment validation techniques on offer but the spammers always seem to find a hole.... shame it wasn't a black hole that sucked em in
http://www.wordpress.org rules! been using it for a while and it does exactly what I want. you can either set up your own one on your webspace or just quickly register one on the wordpress site. it has a nifty administration and comes with a free askimet spam protection tool - which does an excellent job!
give it a shot, i am pretty sure you wont be disappointed! there are tons of skins as well
From: Rochester, New York, USA Insane since: May 2000
posted 01-31-2007 16:04
I am a http://www.wordpress.org proponent as well. It is simply a great blogging system. I use it for one of my personal sites, and I have set it up for a couple of my friends to use and they love it as well. It is very simple, easy to customize, and has a ton of user support.
You will find grandma's blog running wordpress and you will find the NY Times using wordpress.
mas' post was actually the last bit I needed to be convinced... and I installed WordPress on my site; and to be honest, it does exactly what I was expecting, it's a great application, with editing facilities for everything down to the templates. I would recommend it too.
Apprt from that, it is really quick and efficient, easy to manage your posts, and having installed it through Fantastico, it took me exactly 5 minutes to install it and post my first post. Who could ask for more?
I have another blog on http://www.blogger.com/start, which I will try and move to WordPress too eventually.
I must stand alone, apparently, in my support of Textpattern.
In addition to being a very fine content management system with excellent customization and a dedicated following of talented designers & developers, Textpattern features Textile, a marvelous system for, as they say, nudging plain text into structurally sound & stylistically rich web content. Very snazzy, very easy to use.
Moreover, merely using the system makes you feel like you're putting together a classy setup. Dean Allen has always been a hero of mine when it comes to classic typography, and this system makes that sort of thing ten times easier than having to manage it yourself.
I'm all for Textpattern. Get it. Love it. Live it.
From: Darwin, NT, Australia Insane since: Dec 2003
posted 01-31-2007 22:07
Many thanks, people
Looks like you've at least helped me narrow my choice down to two.
It's just that Textpatten I hadn't even heard of.... Ithought all the hard nutwork was done for me after mas' post and supportive comments, then in steps twitch^ and Nathus ta muddy the water
Though I must admit that the TXT Greenery is very easy on the eye.
From: Lost Angeles Kalifornia, via Hawaii.... Insane since: Jun 2001
posted 02-01-2007 00:48
Reading all this blog stuff got me majorly hyped and I installed Wordpress and without too much drama, it worked! One problem I ran into though is the image uploading doesn't work. I tried to adjust my permissions but that didn't seem to fix it.
Many thanks, people Looks like you've at least helped me narrow my choice down to two.It's just that Textpatten I hadn't even heard of.... Ithought all the hard nutwork was done for me after mas' post and supportive comments, then in steps twitch^ and Nathus ta muddy the water Though I must admit that the TXT Greenery is very easy on the eye.Once again, muchas gracias!
Reading all this blog stuff got me majorly hyped and I installed Wordpress and without too much drama, it worked! One problem I ran into though is the image uploading doesn't work. I tried to adjust my permissions but that didn't seem to fix it.Anyone care to help a bumble(*%? :-)thanks!rob
I just checked my wordpresssettings...Uploads folder (and subfolders) set to 777.
But screw the uploads, get yourself lightbox js or highslide or thickbox and enter it manually.
Then there's the problem of comment spam; there's various comment validation techniques on offer but the spammers always seem to find a hole.... shame it wasn't a black hole that sucked em in Any thoughts much appreciated.
I don't use it...not enough traffic to worry about spam...my pixlepost galleries got spammed though and I resolved that by blacklisting any string that contained http given spammers invariably want to leave a url with their crap
From: buttcrack of the midwest Insane since: Oct 2000
posted 02-01-2007 18:17
You no longer have to stand alone, twItch^. I`m there with ya on the textpattern thing.
(I know what a comfort that must be for ya)
Looked it over last night, the install was a snap, and config and set up are simple enough even for me, and that`s a Documentation Accomplishment.
Awesome find. Thanks.
From: Rochester, New York, USA Insane since: May 2000
posted 02-01-2007 19:38
@Radical Rob: Change the permissions of the uploads directory in wp-content to 777 - chmod -R 777 uploads if the folder does not exist mkdir uploads;chmod -R 777 uploads and you should be in business.
From: Lost Angeles Kalifornia, via Hawaii.... Insane since: Jun 2001
posted 02-01-2007 23:57
thanks wolf.... i thought about that, i use simpleviewer which is quite nice but I'm talking just simple image uploading of personal photos. nothing serious.
@Radical Rob: Change the permissions of the uploads directory in wp-content to 777 - chmod -R 777 uploads if the folder does not exist mkdir uploads;chmod -R 777 uploads and you should be in business.Dan @ Code Town
From: Darwin, NT, Australia Insane since: Dec 2003
posted 02-02-2007 15:53
Well, after db's nod too, I set off to get Textpattern up and running.... no easy task when MySQL is sumtin' ya heard about from other inmates, full stop
Half a day down.... thinking I'm an idiot after sifting through pages of tutorials to no avail... turns out my host doesn't/won't MySQL.... shoulda ditched 'em last year when the opportunity presented!
Ta cut a long story short, Wordpress was up and running in about 1 minute... p*ss easy, and for any softies amongst ya, it's right here... Originis
Much thanks, everyone for the help and tips... sorry twItch^, they should give ya some sorta commission, I had it all ready ta go (maybe... this active server stuff is a minefield for me) But I'll prob be back when it's re-hosting time.... I'm right over the host I got now!
Well, you didn't say you also wanted free hosting. Textpattern doesn't have some crazy huge domain you can park your blog on. Me, I like full control over my stuff, so I host it on my server. And happiness ensues.
But happy you're up and running. Welcome to the terribly-named Blogosphere.
From: Darwin, NT, Australia Insane since: Dec 2003
posted 02-02-2007 22:39
^ Nah, I didn't put that too well yesterday.... but the pressure was on timewise to get the pictures etc online
We have our own fairly extensive site, H&R Development P/L, and I wanted to host the new blog as part of that site. We've been with our host ever since they started with whole internet deal, and the company founder is a friend of some 35 years standing. Last year they took the millions offered, and sold out to one of the larger service providers.... that's only interested, now, in the provision of access and the sorta home, Myspace type hosting; any server side support etc went by the board apparently... not that they bothered to let their clients know. Usual blurb.... everythings gunna get better, cheaper, blah, blah..
It was a huge hassle to even get our site hosted last year and I wish, now, that I'd spent the time to relocate once the business was sold. We have fairly large image files and it was just a bit too much at the time. Thanks very much for your help the last few days twItch^, and others, I really appreciate the help, and fully intend to set up Textpattern, but first I gotta get a new host, move everything and..... drum roll..... get used ta bein' a grandfather
From: The Land of one Headlight on. Insane since: May 2001
posted 02-02-2007 23:14
quote: lan said:
get used ta bein' a grandfather
Yes... I thought that was perhaps what was happening but then I was wondering if that was you with the rubber gloves.... or was it you trying to get in on dinner. =) Congratulations!!
___________________________________________________________________________
"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying that I approved of it." Mark Twain
From: Darwin, NT, Australia Insane since: Dec 2003
posted 02-02-2007 23:24
Thanks, NJ... nah, no rubber gloves.... wouldn't want that job (should see what ya gotta look at all day )... I've been on the wrong side of the camera... and reading lotsa MySQL and Textpattern tuts
From: Darwin, NT, Australia Insane since: Dec 2003
posted 02-06-2007 07:09
Lookin' good there, Rob. I tried ta leave you a comment on your site but comments are set for log-in comments only
Lucky ya got a decent host and ya can edit the code... I had a bit of mucking around to get my gallery to operate how I wanted. Ended up posting the gallery to our own site... no MySQL support but at least I could code it... and then linked it via a page at Wordpress ta make it at least look a bit seamless...
I envy you guys that breeze through style sheets and javascript
From: Darwin, NT, Australia Insane since: Dec 2003
posted 02-06-2007 07:13
Lookin' good there, Rob. I tried ta leave you a comment on your site but comments are set for log-in comments only
Lucky ya got a decent host so ya can host it yourself and then edit the Wordpress code... I had a bit of mucking around to get my gallery to operate how I wanted. Ended up posting the gallery to our own site... no MySQL support but at least I could code it... and then linked it via a page at Wordpress ta make it at least look a bit seamless...
I envy you guys that breeze through style sheets and javascript
From: Darwin, NT, Australia Insane since: Dec 2003
posted 02-06-2007 10:38
Removed double post which suddenly appeared 3 1/2 hours after I posted
Asylum server error showing all that time then, all of a sudden, the site re-appeared as well as a double post... sumthin's extra weird in the corridors today
Basement: Check... OK
Far wing: Check... OK
Towers: Check... OK
From: Lost Angeles Kalifornia, via Hawaii.... Insane since: Jun 2001
posted 02-06-2007 23:23
it took me quite a bit of fussing with it to get it to work, but overall, I like it.
There's still quite a bit I'd like to do like add the sidebar to my other pages, but can't figure out which file it is... (hmmm... could it be sidebar.php???)
I used simpleviewer for my gallery. It's pretty simple, I just had to create a seperate directory for each catergory. I would like to customize it even more but for now it works and it's not like I'm getting heavy traffic.
posted 01-30-2007 21:46
)... I've been on the wrong side of the camera... and reading lotsa MySQL and Textpattern tuts 
