Quickstart - Activating Blog Account and Writing Entry

Activate Blog

Blog Activation is a two step process.

1. Apply for Personal Web Space (https://www.work.psu.edu/webspace)

If you do not currently have Personal Web space, fill out the form at https://www.work.psu.edu/webspace.
Note: Please allow three business days for your Web space to become active.

2. Activate Blogs Account

Once you have activated your Personal Web Space, go to https://blogs.psu.edu and use the Log In link. You will be taken to a Dashboard screen.

Create Blog and write entry.

1. Once you have successfully activated your account, go to the Create menu and select Blogs. Complete the forms to create your blog. Click the Publish link in the green box when prompted. See Create a Blog for more details.
2. Configure your Comment Settings so users can easily post comments.
3. You should now see a Write Entry tab. Click this tab and complete the form to write your first entry.

Current Blog Features

The Blogs at Penn State include the following functionality:

BASIC FEATURES

• Multiple blogs per user
• Published in your personal web space (you can blog about whatever topic you want)
• Customize fonts and colors with the Styles selector
• Supports tags, categories and monthly archives
• Upload image files and podcast files as well as other media files.
• Comments and Trackbacks from anyone.
• Filter comments and trackbacks for spam.
• Generates (RSS) news feeds and podcast feeds
• Customize Sidebar
• Import text from other blogs

* Ideal for announcements, journaling, portfolios, note taking, and discussion.

NOT ENABLED YET

• Private blogs - all blogs are visible to the public. The Blogs at Penn State team is working on a solution to tie Blogs to Protected Web Space
• Departmental blogs - The Blogs at Penn State team is researching solutions.

Blog Pilot Documentation and Support

• Help documentation is available at http://blogger.psu.edu/gethelp/.
• Use the Blogger Forum or contact blogs@psu.edu for additional assistance.

This is a Pilot

This is a reminder that we are still in pilot status for Spring 2008 for this system. Although we will work to ensure full service, there may be glitches in the system and support feedback may not be as rapid as with other production services such as Webmail or ANGEL.

Create A New Blog

To activate your personal Web space, go to http://www.personal.psu.edu/, then click the Apply for Web space on www.personal.psu.edu link. Note that there is a three-business day turnaround for this process.

This page describes how to create a blog. Once that is done, you can write and publish your first post.

To create a new blog

You can view the video or read the how-to text:

1. Go to to http://blogs.psu.edu and click Login to New Blog System. The first time you log in, you will see the System Overview page.
2. In the Create menu on the top, select Blog.
   Note: If you do not see the Blogs option in the Create menu, go to the top white location tab and select System Overview.
   

3. Enter a Blog Name in the Settings window (e.g. “A Test Blog”). This will be name on the top of the blog page.
4. Select a Template Set such as a Classic Blog or a Professional Website depending on how you want to use your space.
5. You can change the directory name in the Site URL as needed.
   Note: You can only change the portion of the name after “…blogs/” and you can only use letters, numbers, dashes and underscores.
6. Click Create Blog at the bottom to finalize the process.
   
7. Click the Write Entry button to write and publish your first post.

Comments Settings and Moderating Comments

By default, new blogs are set to allow comments, but only from Penn State users who have already created a blog.

If this is not desirable, you may prefer to activate Anonymous Comments. See instructions below. Go to the Comments Options table to compare WebAccess vs. Anonymous comments.

Changing Settings

Allow Non-Penn State Comments

These settings will allow anyone to comment, but will require the author to approve each comment before it is posted. See the Approve or Delete Comments section for information on approving comments.

1. Log in and enter your blog, click Preferences in top toolbar, then select General.
   
2. A set of blog settings will be opened. Click the Registration link in the left hand menu to access the settings for enabling and disabling Web Access.
3. If you want to allow non-Penn State comments, check the option for Anonymous Comments, then Require E-mail Address for Anonymous Comments uncheck the options for WebAccess, LiveJournal and Vox.
   Note: Leave the option for Allow Registration checked.
   
4. Click Save Changes before exiting the page.
5. Click the Publish link to post the changes.
6. See the Approve or Delete Comments section for information on approving comments.

Note: The options for OpenID, Live Journal and Vox comments are non functional in the Penn State Movable Type environment.

Disable Comments

If you want to completely disable comments:

1. Click Preferences in top toolbar, then select Blog Settings.
2. Click the Comment link in the left hand settings menu to open those settings
3. Uncheck Accept Comments. Click Save Changes before exiting the page.
   
4. To have moderated comments (comments are not published until approved by you), check the following settings. With these settings, you will receive an e-mail for all comments posted to the Web for you to approve.
   • Make sure Accent Comments is checked.
   • Set the option for “Immediately approve comments” from to Trusted Commenters Only or No One.
   • Set E-mail Notification to On.
     
5. To disable comments completely, turn Accept Comments off.
6. Click Save Changes before exiting the page.
7. Click the Publish link to post the changes

 

Change Back to Penn State Authenticated Comments

Note: This option requires Penn State users to create a blog before they can post a comment.

1. Log in and enter your blog, click Preferences in top toolbar, then select Blog Settings.
2. Click the Registration link in the left hand menu.
3. Check the options for Allow Registration and WebAccess. Other options may be disabled.
4. Click Save Changes before exiting the page.
5. Click the Publish link to post the changes

Approve or Delete Anonymous Comments

If the approve options are set to No One or Trusted commenters, then you must approve comment submissions before they are posted.

1. For each new comment, you will receive an e-mail message including the username and the content of the comment along with three links.
2. Click on second “Edit link” to go to that comment.
   Note: If the link does not work, log in and enter your blog then click the Manage in the upper tool bar and select Comments. Then you can choose from the list given.
   
   Comment Status window. The blog eiditor is changing the status from Unapproved (yellow) to Approved.
3. You have the following options available in the Comments window:
• To publish a comment change the Status to Approved then click Save Changes at the bottom.
• To unpublish comment change the Status to Unapproved then click Save Changes at the bottom.
• To delete a comment, clixk the Delete button at the bottom of the page.
• To set a comment as junk, change the Status to Reported as Spam.
• To ban a commenter, go to the More Actions menu at the lower right and select Ban commenter

Reply to a Comment

1. Click the Manage in the upper tool bar and select Comments. You will see a list of submitted comments.
2. Click the Reply link beneath the appropriate comment.
   Note: You can reply to a comment in your published blog by clicking the Comments link beneath an entry.
3. Enter your text in the Your reply field, then click the Submit button. The reply will be published as another comment.

WebAccess vs. Anonynmous Comments

By default, new blogs are set to allow comments only from Penn State users (users need to login with their Access Account). You will also receive an e-mail message for each comment submitted which you must approve (see instructions in the Approve or Delete comments section below.

Two other options – Anonymous comments and Disabled Comments – are available. Here is a chart comparing the advantages and disadvantages of each. Note that in many cases, Anonymous Comments or may a better option.

Features of Different Comments Settings

Setting	WebAccess (Default)	Anonymous	Disabled
Advantages	Penn State Users only (reduces spam) Comments posted automatically Ideal for large classes or Penn State projects	Anyone can comment Ideal for blogs with a general audience	Spam completely eliminated Ideal for personal journals
Disadvantages	Commenters must activate Personal Web space and create a blog before commenting Comments still visible to the public Older blogs may need to be reset templates	Difficult to block spam comments Comments typically need to be approved before being posted	No one can comment

Write and Publish Blog Entries

First, make sure you have

1. Activated your Personal Web space
2. Created a blog

To create an entry

1. Log in to http://blogs.psu.edu and enter your blog.
2. Click the Write Entry tab at the top. You should see an entry for the blog you just created.
   
3. Fill in a title for your entry and enter text in the textbox below. You can use the formatting buttons as needed. See the Entry Formatting Appendix for details.
4. Add Tags (a list of terms separated by commas) or Categories as needed.
5. Click Save to complete your entry.
6. To view the entry as your public will see it, click the View Site button in the top links. Your blog will open in a new tab or window.
7. To send an e-mail notification, click Share on right of Entry screen
   Note: If this option is not visible, click the Save button.

Key to Formatting Tools

See the Entry Formatting Tools table for an explanation of the different WYSIWYG formatting tools.

Edit and Delete Older Blog Entries

To edit and delete older entries, click the top Manage menu and select Entries. See the Edit and Delete Entries documentation for more details.

Notes on Additional Options

1. Extended tab - Allows you to split a long entry into two sections. Put the second part of a long entry in the Extended screen. Blog viewers will see the first part of an entry in the blog home page followed by a "Continue Reading" link.
2. Format Menu - Allows you to switch between Rich Text (WYSIWYG) and None (HTML Tag) view. Other options refer to alternate markup schemes.
3. Status Menu - Controls whether the public sees your entry
   1. Published (Default) - the public can see your entry
   2. Unpublished - the entry is hidden from the public. Use this to write and save drafts of longer entries.
   3. Scheduled option lets you post entries at specific times in the future.
4. Feedback
   1. Unchecking Accept Comments will disable comments for that entry.
   2. Unchecking Accept TrackBacks will disable trackbacks for that entry.
5. The Publish Date options allow to adjust the publication date of your entry.
6. The Basename field allows you to adjust the URL of your blog entry
   Note: It is NOT recommended that you change your Basename unless you have a specific reason to do so.
7. Display Options - allows you to customize the entry form of your blog.

Find Blog URL and View Blog Posts

First, make sure you have

1. Activated yor Personal Web space
2. Created a blog
3. Written and published an entry

What is the Blog URL?

The blog URL you share with your friends and colleagues is different from the one used to create your blog (http://blogs.psu.edu).

The URL of your published blog is structured as follows:

http://www.personal.psu.edu/<your Userid>/blogs/<URL Name>

For instance, if user xyz123 had a blog with the URL name “worknotes”, the URL would be

http://www.personal.psu.edu/xyz123/blogs/worknotes

The following instructions tell how to find your published blog URL from within http://blogs.psu.edu.

To find your blog URL

1. Log on to http://blogs.psu.edu and enter your blog.
2. Click the View Site (circle arrow) button in the top links.
   
3. The public view of your site will open in a new tab or window.

If you have just written an entry

After you have written and saved an entry you will see a link for View Published Entry above the entry title towards the right.

Note: If you do not see this link, make sure you have clicked the Save button and that the Status menu is set to Published.