Apr 27 2008
Help/FAQ
On this page we hope to give some tips and brief tutorials on how to access different parts of the site.
Recently we reduced the number of headers at the top of our home page to make access easier and we have put a brief guide on the extreme right-hand panel. To get the best out of the site you do have to spend some time trying it out. We are trying to accommodate many different requirements.
The latest change is to the Pages menu on the far right panel – there have been a number of readers who have found the preponderance of pages rather bewildering. Now we have folded the titles and you will be able to see a more focussed hierarchy of pages that we hope weill inform as well as entertain you. Please let us know your opinion and suggestions.
Posts and Pages
One of the things about an interactive website is that people can comment immediately to something that they see published on the site. As a community website we are trying to give you up to date news and comments that are interesting and entertaining.
Posts are very time-sensitive, they are placed by contributors on the Home page and are gradually transferred from the front page. Ultimately they end up in an archive. They are rather like a letter column of a newspaper.
Pages are more permanent. They are information-rich and range from formal documents and statements about village organizations to short stories and so on. They will stay more ore less permanently available although for technical reasons we may have to put them in archives too. Pages are found mainly in “About Wye”
In the About Wye section you can access hierarchies of pages in particular areas eg Village Businesses, Creative Wye, Village Organisations. Within, say Creative Wye, you will find links to Wye Authors or Wye Painters etc. and among the Wye Painters you will find named painters such as Ann Sutherland and Norman Field.
Contact
You can contact the administrator through this heading, you simply add your name, email address and your message and you will be answered by one of the editorial team.
Sometimes people trying to contact us are unable to receive our replies. This is generally because they have anti-spam or anti-spyware settings on their email browser. It is their own responsibility to enable or disable this protection. We have often tried, unsuccessfully, for several days to send our replies.
Administrators
We have four administrators who look after the back office. They update the software and are generally quite computer literate.
Editors
Editors obviously edit pieces. Really they check stuff for quality and help contributors to put up pictures etc if necessary. They also hunt down special stories.
Authors
Write articles and contribute pieces for their organizations.
Contributors
Generally have access to writing up posts. You can acquire contributor status by contacting the administrator.
We do not run a Forum as in the old wyeweb – it didn’t get much attention and comments ie a blog form has proverd much richer. We always welcome contributors and authors.
So briefly:
1 The Home page displays posts - very current contributions. At the top we have a brief introduction to current posts. YOU CAN LINK FROM THERE TOO.
2 About Wye is the heart of our information about the village – environment, history, businesses, organizations, authors, painters. CLICK ON THERE AND EXPLORE OUR VILLAGE.
3 Events We have an events callendar. By clicking on “Events” you can see the callendar a month at a time. Some events are linked to a page so that you can get more information.
4 Contact is where you can send emails, files to the editor or administrator.
5 Wye Laughs - a more humourous take on our community and life in general.
Images and Pictures
We are often asked if it is possible for contributors to put up pictures directly. That is not possible though it is possible and indeed welcomed that pictures be added. ASimply send your picture or image files to the administrator via contact.
Also if you left click on a thumbnail you can enlarge the image and even print or save a copy.
Best Practices For Posting – from our WordPress website
You can say or show the world anything you like on your WordPress site. Here are some tips you need to know to help you write your posts in WordPress.
- Use Paragraphs
- No one likes to read writing that never pauses for a line break. To break your writing up into paragraphs, use double spaces between your paragraphs. WordPress will automatically detect these and insert <p> HTML paragraph tags into your writing.
- Using Headings
- If you are writing long posts, break up the sections by using headings, small titles to highlight a change of subject. In HTML, headings are set by the use of h1, h2, h3, h4, and so on. By default, most WordPress Themes use the first, second, and sometimes third heading levels within the site. You can use h4 to set your own headings. Simply type in:
- <h4>Subtitle of Section</h4>
- with double lines before and after and WordPress will make that title a headline in your post. To style the heading, add it to your style.css style sheet file. For more information on styling headings, check out Designing Headings.
- Use HTML
- You don’t have to use HTML when writing your posts. WordPress will automatically add it to your site, but if you do want control over different elements like boxes, headings, and other additional containers or elements, use HTML.
- Spell Check and Proof
- There are spell check Plugins available, but even those can’t check for everything. Some serious writers will write their posts in a text editor with spell check, check all the spelling and proof it thoroughly before copying and pasting into WordPress.
- Think before you post
- Ranting on blogs is commonplace today, but take a moment and think about what you are writing. Remember, once it is out there, it can be seen by many and crawled by search engines; and taking things back is harder once it is public. Take a moment to read what you’ve written before hitting the Publish button. When you are ready, share it with the world.
- Write about what you like
- You’ve heard this a thousand times before and it sounds too cliched, but it is true. If you force yourself to write something that you don’t really enjoy, it will show. Perhaps you might not have a specific theme for writing when you just start, but that’s ok. You’ll become more focused later. Just enjoy the experience and write what you like.
- Write frequently
- Write as frequently as you can, may be even more than twice a day, but don’t let quantity get in the way of quality. Your viewers come for content, don’t give them useless stuff.
- Don’t use too much slang
- Not all the readers will be from your part of the world so make sure people can understand easily.
- Don’t hide your emotions
- Tempting as it might be, don’t hide your real emotions. After all that is what a blog is about. If you want, you can stay anonymous and voice your feelings on whatever you are passionate about. You might have strong views on various subjects but let your readers know your passion. What is passion worth if you can’t even share it? You’ll actually love the discussions it can lead to. The discussions will broaden your own thinking and you might end up making some really good friends.
- Consider your readers
- Perhaps this sounds weird, but consider who needs to know about your blog before you tell them about your new blogging hobby. Will you be able to write freely if you tell them? How much should you let your readers know about you? Is it ok if your boss or girlfriend reads your posts? If you don’t want them to read, take anonymity measures accordingly.
- Make use of comments
- Comments let people share their ideas. Sometimes, they might not be good, but you can ask such people to shut up. Most of the times, they will and if they don’t you can delete their comments. Blogging like real life, can be both fun and not so fun at times. Be prepared. Also, give your people a place to contact you in private if they want to write to you.
- Worry about blog design later
- Blog design matters, but only to an extent. Don’t give up on blogging just because the design isn’t coming up as you’ll like it it to be. Sooner or later, you’ll get around the design problems with ease. But continue writing. Content is what attracts your readers, not just the look of your blog.
- Don’t play too safe
- Talk about the real you. Readers aren’t impressed by how big your house is, which cool club you belong to, or what the weather is in your hometown. Don’t be a bore and put a long post on how you fixed the leaking tap in minutes. Readers don’t care about braggers, they care about the real you–how you feel, what gets you excited, why you are the person you are. But if achievements are all that you can talk about, you will bore your readers.
- Use pictures and videos
- They make the pages colorful and viewers get to see a little of your part of the world. They feel connected.
- Keep writing
- Don’t stop blogging. If you don’t have anything to write about, chances are, you are still holding back. Let loose. Perhaps surf more blogs and maybe you’ll get an idea. You can write about your friends, complain about your boss, or simply rant about what’s gone wrong. Yet if nothing else works, just write a review on the latest movie, book, or product. Easy actually.
- Save your posts
- Save your posts before you press the publish button. Anything can happen with your computer or with an internet connection. You don’t need to lose your post.
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